Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.94
Liaison John Alejandro
Submission Date Oct. 13, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of San Diego
OP-22: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.21 / 6.00 Michael Catanzaro
Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" 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’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:
High

Part 1 

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use --- 107,329,043 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 83,728,128 Gallons 107,329,043 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016
Baseline Year July 1, 2009 June 1, 2010

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:
The baseline water consumption year is consistent with our Climate Action Plan and reduction targets set forth therein.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 2,374 2,339
Number of employees resident on-site 0 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 7,753 7,488
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 1,566 1,295
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted campus users 7,582.75 7,172

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 11,041.92 Gallons 14,965.01 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
26.22

Part 2 

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 3,226,969 Gross square feet 2,839,732 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 25.95 Gallons per square foot 37.80 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
31.35

Part 3 

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in total water use per acre/hectare of vegetated grounds):
Yes

Area of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 35 Acres 35 Acres

Total water use (potable + non-potable) per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use per unit of vegetated grounds 0 Gallons per acre 3,066,544.09 Gallons per acre

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

Optional Fields 

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives, e.g. initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices such as signage and competitions:
Being located in Southern California, the issues of water use and water-related behavior has been extremely prevalent at USD, especially in the years of the drought. The USD Changemaker Hub designates a campus and competition theme every two years. The theme for the past two years has been water. The Changemaker theme helps create programming, educational signage, academic topics and projects, and social entrepreneurship. Water programming included documentary showings and educational workshops. Signage throughout campus highlights the amount of water in food and ways that USD saves water. Professors use the Changemaker theme to create academic projects and encourage students to research and provide solutions to water issues. Finally, the Changemaker Challenge provides students with the opportunity to propose water-issue solutions and gain funding for water entrepreneurial ideas. A student-lead club, What's Your 20?, installed a rain barrel in the campus garden to collect and reuse rainwater. This collected water is primarily used to water the garden that provides herbs and produce to one of the campus dining areas. A student written and produced video was created to highlight savings projects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSaKs_jIjSQ

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

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives (e.g. building retrofits):
USD has replaced shower heads and faucets throughout campus with low-flow retrofits to increase water-efficiency. Savings on these projects are estimated at more than 30,000,000 gallons annually. A student written and produced video was created to highlight savings projects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSaKs_jIjSQ

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://www.sandiego.edu/sustainability/initiatives/water.php

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The data used was the historical data from facilities.

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.