Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 52.40
Liaison Andy Mitchell
Submission Date Sept. 11, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Illinois Chicago
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.04 / 2.00 Cynthia Klein-Banai
Associate Chancellor for Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use 2,901,435.76 Cubic meters 2,680,005.15 Cubic meters

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Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 2,901,435.76 Cubic meters 2,680,005.15 Cubic meters

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Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 3,800 2,744
Number of residential employees 0 0
Number of in-patient hospital beds 470 483
Full-time equivalent enrollment 27,589 24,203
Full-time equivalent of employees 10,924 10,845
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 0 0

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Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 1,371,887.08 Square meters 1,306,512.54 Square meters

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Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 36.70 Hectares 38.29 Hectares

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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, 2003 June 30, 2004

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A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
This baseline aligns with the baseline of UIC's Climate Action Plan.

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Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
0 Cubic meters

None
Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year:
0 Cubic meters

None
A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:
UIC has installed a cistern to capture run-off from the roof on the UIC Forum and the water is utilized to irrigate the plantings in the area.

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A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:
Water is metered at the building level by the City of Chicago and compiled by the Utilities Department.

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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:
Gradually all restroom plumbing fixtures are being replaced with low flow fixtures. For example, Lincoln Hall has reduced potable water consumption by 42% from calculated baseline through the installation of low flow urinals, dual flush water closets, low-flow lavatory faucets and automatic sensors.

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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:
Campus Utilities is evaluating option for reducing water consumption in the power plants.

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A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):
In the past three or four years, UIC's practice has been to install low maintenance, native plants in new renovation/construction campus grounds. The construction of Lincoln Hall (UIC's first LEED Gold certified building), is just one of the latest "green" buildings that have low maintenance, native plant plot with proper drainage surrounding the building. These native plants require little maintenance and the ground provides better drainage.

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A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:
---

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A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:
The upgrade of Douglas Hall to a LEED certified building has allowed for water conservation strategies for landscaping by eliminating the use of potable water and irrigation methods.

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

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
UIC saw a steady downward trend in water use through 2009. However, due to a leak in a chilled water line that could not be repaired until the end of the cooling season, there was a large spike in campus water consumption.

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.