Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.60
Liaison Sean MacInnes
Submission Date Feb. 27, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of North Carolina, Greensboro
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Trey McDonald
Sustainability Coordinator
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use 469,037.36 Cubic meters 664,689.68 Cubic meters

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Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 469,037.36 Cubic meters 664,689.68 Cubic meters

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Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 4,616 3,923
Number of residential employees 14 12
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 16,351.70 13,798
Full-time equivalent of employees 2,557.10 2,229.30
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 1,401 754

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Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 562,410.33 Square meters 433,909.22 Square meters

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Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 69.04 Hectares 65.80 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, 2013 June 30, 2014
Baseline Year July 1, 2005 June 30, 2006

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A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
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Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
0 Cubic meters

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Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year: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

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A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:
Non-potable water wells are used for irrigating campus athletic fields (baseball and soccer)as well as the golf course. Facilities also operates a non-potable water well for washing university vehicles. Consumption figures from these wells are not available.

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A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:
Most buildings have been equipped with water-consumption sub-meters that are manually read and entered into an electronic database. As budget allows, these meters are being converted to be read via the university's building automation system.

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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 showerheads and toilets have been installed across the campus. Pilot projects for waterless and pint-flush urinals have been conducted, with considerable promise for expanding the pint-flush options.

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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:
Energy Star / high efficiency washers have been installed in the residence halls. Plumbing upgrades and water efficient appliances have been included throughout Dining Hall renovation.The UNCG Facilities Operations Dept. maintains a robust leak detection and repair program, and has installed water and energy efficient equipment for the steam system that feeds most of the campus.

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A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):
Over the past several years the UNCG Grounds Dept. has installed various ornamental grasses which are drought tolerant and require very little maintenance. Ornamental shrub species that have been planted in the past and survived the extreme heat and drought are chosen as the preferred plants to use on new projects. Many lawn areas have been converted to warm season grasses such as low maintenance zoysia, and this practice will be expanded. Zoysia is a drought tolerant turfgrass that requires less maintenance during the growing season and needs minimal irrigation and fertilizing. This reduces labor, water consumption, fuel use, and emissions.

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A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:
The Grounds Department has installed rain gauges on all irrigation systems to shut off sprinklers during rain. Grounds staff monitor the use of the irrigation systems and base the use of the system on the moisture content of the soil. Irrigation is not conducted during daytime hours to reduce evaporation.

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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:
Population numbers are available via the Office of Institutional Research. The Fact Book and the Common Data Set reports contain most of the information used here. Also received information from Mark Davenport of the Office of Institutional Research. Water consumption data are from Facilities Operations. Baseline year = 2005-06; performance year = 2013-14. Note that demographic data have been revised using updated figures from the Office of Institutional Research.

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.