Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 76.79
Liaison Mike Wilson
Submission Date Jan. 27, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Victoria
OP-22: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.02 / 4.00
"---" 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:
Low to Medium

Part 1 

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use --- 175,893,648.32 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 146,493,594.06 Gallons 175,893,648.32 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year Jan. 1, 2015 Dec. 31, 2015
Baseline Year Jan. 1, 2010 Dec. 31, 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:
---

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 2,472 2,240
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 19,068 16,975
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 4,576 4,982
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 842 1,800
Weighted campus users 17,719.50 15,677.75

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 8,267.37 Gallons 11,219.32 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
26.31

Part 2 

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 4,274,393 Gross square feet 3,854,939 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 34.27 Gallons per square foot 45.63 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
24.89

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 124.50 Acres 124.50 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 1,412,800.39 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:
---

A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:
UVic has a grey water system in place that treats water from the Outdoor Aquatics Research Facility with ozone and chlorine that serves the heat pump condenser in one building (ECS), and also serves the toilet and urinal flushing in six other campus buildings through a seperate plumbing system. The grey water fills a tank that is pressurized and supplies the fixtures. If the grey water is not keeping up with demand, the tank is filled with city water to make up the difference.

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):
In 2011 UVic was subject to a comprehensive water audit by the regional district and has been implementing the report's recommendations ever since. These include retrofitting plumbing fixtures in two large buildings, in addition to the water sensing taps and low flow toilets in all of our buildings built since 2007. Grey water from the Outdoor Aquatics Research Facility is recycled into the toilets in six buildings. UVic also has an ongoing program to retrofit once through cooling units on campus with less water intensive models.

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
UVic has been very successful in reducing overall water use on campus over the past few years even though the campus population as continued to grow. Between 2010 and 20153, water usage fell by almost 17%, while the campus population grew by almost 12%. These savings were the result of implementing many significant water savings initiatives and the termination of a particularly water research enterprise. The university replaced outdated, inefficient toilets and urinals in two large campus buildings, and recycles grey water from the Outdoor Aquatics Research Facility into toilets and urinals in 6 buildings. More information on water conservation initiatives can be found here: http://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/topics/water/index.php

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.