Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.19
Liaison Justin Mog
Submission Date Feb. 13, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Louisville
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.43 / 3.00 Tina Pierce
Asst Dir Phys Plant Bus Ofc
Physical Plant
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use 242,985,000 Gallons 260,000,000 Gallons

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Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 242,985,000 Gallons 260,000,000 Gallons

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Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 2,639 2,000
Number of residential employees 0 0
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 18,779 16,483
Full-time equivalent of employees 6,342 5,949
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 1,525 0

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Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 8,081,064 Square feet 6,516,785 Square feet

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Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 560 Acres 560 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, 2014 June 30, 2015
Baseline Year Jan. 1, 2006 Dec. 31, 2006

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A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
There is no information prior to 2006 available.

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Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
---

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Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year: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:
Both the new Student Rec Center and the Clinical & Translational Research building (both LEED Gold) have large tanks for storage of rainwater and condensate from the air-conditioning system. This water is used for irrigation of the surrounding landscaping.

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A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:
The University purchases domestic water from the local utility and has individual meters on nearly every building on campus. These meters are analog type and are monitored by the utility.

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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:
Low-flow shower heads: 616 standard shower heads were replaced with efficient 2.0 gallon/minute heads. Reduces water use by an average of 11%, saving over $34,000/year. Low-flow faucet aerators: Installed 20,426 pressure independent aerators. Reduces water consumption at sinks by an average of 58% for an annual savings of over $159,000.

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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:
Low-flow shower heads: 616 standard shower heads were replaced with efficient 2.0 gallon/minute heads. Reduces water use by an average of 11%, saving over $34,000/year. Low-flow faucet aerators: Installed 20,426 pressure independent aerators. Reduces water consumption at sinks by an average of 58% for an annual savings of over $159,000.

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A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):
Native trees, shrubs and grasses are specified for landscape plantings. When non-natives are utilized for special applications, they are selected on the merits of being insect and disease resistant. Non-native plants must be hardy in planting zones 6-7 (the type that thrive on our campus) to best ensure they will thrive with minimal irrigation.

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A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:
Central Irrigation Control is being considered for Belknap Campus. This control system will irrigate based on real time soil moisture data as well as evapotranspiration data. Currently we monitor the environmental conditions and manually adjust our 18 (Belknap Campus only) automatic irrigation controllers based on weather data. Central Irrigation Control can save up to 30% of water for irrigation purposes. Proper watering, based on real-time data, is healthier for plants and can help them fight off disease and insects naturally. A "Rainbird SMT" smart controller was installed in 2009 at Thrust Theatre. A pilot study is underway to determine feasability for Evapotranspiration Based irrigation control. Some new buildings have been designed to capture storm water and condensate for use when irrigating lawns and landscaping.

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

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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:
Staff and Student population answers came from Just the Facts 2014-2015

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.