Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 76.21
Liaison Lindsey Kalkbrenner
Submission Date May 5, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Santa Clara University
OP-22: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.69 / 6.00 Chris Young
Assistant Director - Buildings & Grounds
Facilities
"---" 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’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:
High

Part 1 

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use --- 120,989,174.02 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 93,180,343.30 Gallons 78,527,501.29 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year Jan. 1, 2016 Dec. 31, 2016
Baseline Year Jan. 1, 2005 Dec. 31, 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:
---

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 3,093 2,156
Number of employees resident on-site 26 31.20
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 18 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 8,702 6,991
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 1,613 1,326.80
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted campus users 8,534 6,785.15

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 10,918.72 Gallons 11,573.44 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
5.66

Part 2 

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 3,085,062 Gross square feet 2,088,241 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 30.20 Gallons per square foot 37.60 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
19.68

Part 3 

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in total water use per acre/hectare of vegetated grounds):
No

Area of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds --- ---

Total water use (potable + non-potable) per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use per unit of vegetated grounds --- ---

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

Optional Fields 

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives, e.g. initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices such as signage and competitions:
“60 Seconds Less” campaign encourages campus affiliates to cut 60 seconds or more off their time in the shower using community-based marketing and incentives. The campaign spread beyond the campus community and was picked up by some Bay Area news agencies. SCU is currently in the process of installing water meters in all campus buildings in order to monitor individual building water consumption and initiate an annual Campus Water Challenge in which residence halls will compete against one another to see who can consume the smallest amount of water over the course of a month relative to each building’s baseline. A class taught by Dr. Chad Raphael engaged students in exploring how to enter dialogue surrounding the drought in a proactive way using three broad approaches to water conservation – voluntary measures, creating incentives to conserve, and mandatory restrictions.

A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:
SCU uses recycled water to irrigate 80% of campus landscaping, and recycled water is used in toilets of the Learning Commons and Locatelli Student Activities Center. Signage throughout campus indicates that landscaping is watered with recycled water. Roughly 38% of all the water consumed by SCU is reclaimed.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives (e.g. building retrofits):
Residence hall laundry facilities include only front-loading washing machines, using 35-50 percent less water than top-loading models. Low-flow shower heads are used in 95% of residence halls. These shower heads spray 2.5 gallons per minute. SCU has retrofitted faucet aerators that reduce the GPM flow from 2.2 gpm to 1.5 gpm. Low-flow/dual-flush toilets have also been installed in most campus locations.

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.