Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.70
Liaison Marianne Martin
Submission Date Sept. 22, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Colorado Boulder
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.31 / 5.00 Kristin Epley
Administrator
Facilities Management Administration
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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Level of water risk for the institution’s main campus:
High

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use 378,115 Gallons 413,695 Gallons

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Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 260,475,000 Gallons 313,695 Gallons

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Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 6,014 6,451
Number of residential employees 15 11
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 26,124 25,978
Full-time equivalent of employees 6,212 5,534
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 1,450 5,503

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Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 11,048,065 Square feet 9,685,160 Square feet

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Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 260 Acres 260 Acres

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Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2012 June 30, 2013
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

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A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
In 2001-2002, CU used approximately 400 Mgal per year of water. Since then, CU has reduced water consumption because of the drought conditions we are experiencing, and because water has a large carbon footprint.

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Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
0 Gallons

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Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year:
0 Gallons

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A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:
Current Colorado water law does not permit application/usage of graywater. Raw water (ditch water) is the main water source for irrigation.

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A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:
Most major campus buildings benefit from water sub meters. Campus users with a Colorado.edu email address can access current consumption data using Energy/CAP at: http://www.colorado.edu/cusustainability/solution/usage.html?bldg=411 Legacy Data - building level water consumption data prior to June 2011 is available at: http://www.colorado.edu/cusustainability/solution/usage.html?bldg=411

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A brief description of any building retrofit practices employed by the institution, e.g. to install high efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings:
faucet aerators, low flow toilets and urinals, low flow toilet handles

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A brief description of any policies or programs employed by the institution to replace appliances, equipment and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
N/A

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A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):
Landcape design for the campus landscape follows the seven Xeriscape principles, while enhancing biological diversity with selection of native and drought tolerant plantings and removal of invasive species.

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A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:
Our irrigaton clocks are networked to a central control station that includes a weather station that measures temperature, humidity, wind, solar radiation and dew points. This informtion is monitored daily with adjustments made to the irrigation watering schedule.

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A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:
N/A

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The website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
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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.