Overall Rating	Platinum
Overall Score	85.50
Liaison	Breeana Sylvas
Submission Date	Feb. 28, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of California, Merced
OP-21: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

2.87 / 5.00

"---" 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:

Medium to High

Part 1. Reduction in potable water use per person

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

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal	118,540,052 Gallons	52,293,667 Gallons

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	118,540,052 Gallons	52,293,667 Gallons

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

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	July 1, 2019	June 30, 2020
Baseline Period	July 1, 2005	June 30, 2008

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 established in alignment with UC System Sustainable Practices policy three year average from FY 2005-2008. Figures provided most accurately reflect campus water usage.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	3,600	588
Number of employees resident on-site	0	0
Number of other individuals resident on-site	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	8,847	1,367
Full-time equivalent of employees	1,623	566
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	0	0
Weighted campus users	8,752.50	1,596.75

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	13,543.56 Gallons	32,750.07 Gallons

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

58.65

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	2,325,086 Gross square feet	804,018 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	50.98 Gallons per square foot	65.04 Gallons per square foot

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

21.61

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

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	45 Acres	70 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds	2,634,223.38 Gallons per acre	747,052.39 Gallons per acre

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

-252.62

Optional Fields

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

The campus has held water and energy battles in student housing that has contributed to water use reduction through behavioral changes. The Green Labs and Green Office program on the UC Merced campus has also supported engaging faculty researchers and staff to reduce water use in research labs and offices.

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

The campus does not use non-potable water.

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

The campus employs a number of strategies to help save water, and, as a byproduct, energy. Those efforts include: not watering some lawns; using an evapotranspiration-based irrigation system that senses weather and moisture and waters only when appropriate; reducing watering times by 28 percent; using sprinkler heads with more directed streams instead of wide sprays; being vigilant about repairs that can mitigate leaks, reduce or eliminate runoff, and improve irrigation efficiency; as well as the use of low-flow hardware in housing. The campus also worked to deploy Hydrogel which is an environmentally sound non-toxic biodegradable gel that increases moisture-retention capabilities and acts as a water and nutrient reservoir. The Hydrogel holds the moisture of water until root system needs it. In residential buildings, the campus has installed low flow shower heads and .5gpm creators in faucets to help reduce water consumption.

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

http://water.ucmerced.edu/

Additional documentation to support the submission:

---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

UC Merced expansion has included increases in campus building stocks and student/staff/faculty fte. Even with significant growth the campus has reduced its water consumption per capita.

Also, UC Merced has reduced building water usage by 40% less than comparable building stocks. Every campus building is certified LEED silver or better. UCM buildings have low-flow fixtures and touch less water faucets and as a rule. Buildings earn 80% of the USGBC LEED water credits.

The GSF reflected in performance year take into consideration all campus water usage, this includes offsite and leased facilities.

The campus built out reduced the total vegetated area on the university campus from baseline year to performance.