Overall Rating	Platinum
Overall Score	86.33
Liaison	Lisa Kilgore
Submission Date	March 1, 2024

STARS v2.2

Cornell University
OP-21: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

4.00 / 4.00

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Level of ”Physical Risk Quantity” for the institution’s main campus as indicated by the World Resources Institute Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:

Low

Part 1. Reduction in potable water use per person

Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal	334,843,970 Gallons	475,739,480 Gallons

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	334,843,970 Gallons	475,739,480 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	July 1, 2022	June 30, 2023
Baseline Period	July 1, 2004	June 30, 2005

If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:

A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:

Start of STARS data used 2005 baseline.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	8,543	6,662
Number of employees resident on-site	38	35
Number of other individuals resident on-site	403	459
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	25,376	19,053
Full-time equivalent of employees	11,246.50	12,113
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	1,845	0
Weighted campus users	28,631.38	25,507.75

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	11,695.00 Gallons	18,650.78 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:

37.29

Part 2. Reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area

Gross floor area of building space:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Gross floor area	16,535,209 Gross square feet	14,346,948 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	20.25 Gallons per square foot	33.16 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:

38.93

Part 3. Reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	2,125.76 Acres	1,802 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds	157,517.30 Gallons per acre	264,006.37 Gallons per acre

Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:

40.34

Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:

Used non-potable water to irrigate athletic fields. Recaptured condensate return water for irrigation of landscaping on campus. Used non-potable water to irrigate plantings across campus. Continued from drought of 2016 practice changes.

A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:

Grounds has an underground 1,000 gal tank that is located in the Nursery area that captures water from our irrigation system. We have a pumping station that fills our water trucks and hydro seeder for utilization back on campus. The Physical Sciences building has a grey water system that is used for irrigating their raised patio plantings situated between Physical Sciences and Rockefeller Hall.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives:

Efficient shower heads installed, and low flush toilets and urinals installed throughout campus.

Website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency efforts is available:

https://sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/campus-initiatives/land-water/our-water

Additional documentation to support the submission:

---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Cornell Water System Production-(water served to the City of Ithaca + water served to the Town of Ithaca)+ (water purchased from Bolton Point).

Please note: This years reporting #'s continue to show unprecedented low use of water due to online learning and remote work on the campus.