Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	71.89
Liaison	Isabel Savransky
Submission Date	Nov. 14, 2023

STARS v2.2

Ontario Tech University
OP-21: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

2.87 / 4.00

Isabel Savransky
Sustainability & Asset Planner
Office of Campus Infrastructure and Sustainability

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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	62,831 Cubic meters	69,812 Cubic meters

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	62,616 Cubic meters	69,812 Cubic meters

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

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	Jan. 1, 2022	Dec. 31, 2022
Baseline Period	Jan. 1, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013

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:

Baseline of 2013 was adopted as it was the earliest year that full water records were available.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	0	0
Number of employees resident on-site	0	0
Number of other individuals resident on-site	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	10,139	8,347
Full-time equivalent of employees	749	604
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	385	121.50
Weighted campus users	7,877.25	6,622.13

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	7.95 Cubic meters	10.54 Cubic meters

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

24.60

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	121,402.97 Gross square meters	93,481.47 Gross square meters

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	0.52 Cubic meters per square meter	0.75 Cubic meters per square meter

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

30.94

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

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	93 Hectares	93 Hectares

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds	675.60 Cubic meters per hectare	750.67 Cubic meters per hectare

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

10.00

Optional Fields

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

Part of the behavioural changes on campus: tips and best practices are share via website, newsletters to staff and faculty (The Weekly Report) along with social media post, encouraging these best practices.
We conduct information booths promoting sustainability practices and shifting individuals attitudes and habits.

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

Storm water collection and management

Each building has been designed with a second plumbing system that collects storm water from the roofs and stores it in a 250,000-litre bioswale cistern. This water is then used for irrigation and flushing within the Business and Information Technology building, reducing the university's fresh water consumption of treated water from municipal sources.

Grey water collection and management

The Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory uses approximately 88,000 litres of fresh water every day. This water is supplied by ground-source wells to ensure high-quality water that is low in metals. Grey water is then directed to a 50,000-litre underground cistern, where it is reused. Grey water usage within the buildings is then directed into the storm water management system.

These systems, along with state-of-the-art sensor controls and low-flow water features throughout the buildings, help the university save 32 million litres of water every year.

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

Ontario Tech has state-of-the-art sensor controls and low-flow water features throughout the buildings.

In 2016, the Campus Tennis Centre was converted to a multi-sport turf facility and it 2018, the institution replaced the grass on Vaso's Field into a artificial turf; this significantly reduces the water used for irrigation to water the fields.

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

https://sites.ontariotechu.ca/sustainability/initiatives/on-campus/water.php

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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