Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.44
Liaison Andrea Trimble
Submission Date March 4, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Virginia
OP-21: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.37 / 4.00 Jesse Warren
Sustainability Program Manager
Facilities Management - Energy & Utilities
"---" 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 Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:
Low to Medium

Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal 477,000,000 Gallons 574,000,000 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 475,000,000 Gallons 574,000,000 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period Jan. 1, 2019 Dec. 31, 2019
Baseline Period Jan. 1, 2010 Dec. 31, 2010

A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
This baseline aligns with UVA's sustainability Plan

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 7,076 6,623
Number of employees resident on-site 69 69
Number of other individuals resident on-site 612 566
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 22,935 20,449
Full-time equivalent of employees 16,607 13,295
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted campus users 32,054.75 27,547

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 14,818.40 Gallons 20,837.11 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
28.88

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 18,045,645 Gross square feet 15,574,997 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 26.32 Gallons per square foot 36.85 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
28.58

Area of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 766 Acres 752 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds 622,715.40 Gallons per acre 763,297.87 Gallons per acre

Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
18.42

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:
- UVA Committee on Sustainability: Clean Water Working Group https://www.facebook.com/UVACleanWater/
- H20 To Go bottle fill station for student use: https://sustainability.virginia.edu/resources/h2o-2-go
- World Water - a month of events annually in March: https://uvaworldwater.org/
Outreach, Engagement, and Communications
Sustainability Advocates (students)
Student Employees – recycling, promotions, water, energy, and student outreach teams (students)
Green Labs Program (students, staff, and faculty)
Green Workplace Program (staff and faculty)
Sustainability Partners (staff and community)
Annual Events (i.e. Earth Week, U.Va. Sustainability Day, Game Day Challenge)
Annual Competitions (i.e. Dorm Energy Race)
Greening existing events (i.e. zero waste support)
Community support (i.e. Georgetown University Energy Prize)
Communications support - signage, website, social media, Sustainanewsletter, Green Tips

A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:
UVa has several cisterns that collect water for use at both times of draught and for landscaping establishment and gardening purposes. Since those cisterns are not metered, the rainwater collected and subsequently reused is not included in the totals above.

The University has also installed multiple condensate recovery systems. These systems captures air handler condensate (the liquid product of dehumidification) and sends it to our chiller plants for use in the cooling towers. Generally these systems recover under 2 million gallons a year.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
EPA Water Sense fixtures are required for all new projects and in-kind replacements. LEED certification of new construction, major renovations and large interior fit outs is required. These projects are often use ultra-low consumption to maximize their LEED rating.

Website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
https://www.fm.virginia.edu/docs/operations/FMOperationsAnnualReport_2019-20_TablesGraphs.pdf

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.