Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 49.94
Liaison Jane Stewart
Submission Date March 3, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Washington and Lee University
OP-22: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.69 / 5.00 Dave Merchan
University Engineer
Facilities Management
"---" 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:
Medium to High

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use --- 41,738,628 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 35,503,480 Gallons 41,216,628 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, 2010 June 30, 2011

A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:

Baseline data is from FY2010/2011 and is being used because it the start of a new sustainability effort on campus.


Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 949 1,086
Number of employees resident on-site 74 31
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 2,170 2,172
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 901 761
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted campus users 2,559 2,479

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 13,873.97 Gallons 16,626.31 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
16.55

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 2,306,175 Gross square feet 2,306,175 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 15.39 Gallons per square foot 17.87 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
13.86

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in total water use per acre/hectare of vegetated grounds):
No

Area of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 118 Acres 40 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 1,043,465.70 Gallons per acre

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

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:

Office of Sustainability initiated a program to install waterproof bluetooth speakers in residence hall shower rooms and provided playlists with songs of 4 minutes or less to help students minimize shower times. (They were asked to get out after two songs.)


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

The only rain harvesting Washington and Lee conducts is collecting rainwater on top of the cooling towers and dropping it into the sump. There is no harvested water used for irrigation yet.


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):

Shower heads across campus were replaced with low flow shower heads. Low flow plumbing fixtures are now the University's standard moving forward on construction/renovation projects.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.