Water

Introduction

Water conservation, recycling and reuse, and effective rainwater management practices are important in maintaining and protecting finite groundwater supplies. Likewise, pumping, delivering, and treating water is a major driver of energy consumption, so institutions can help reduce energy use and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy generation by conserving water. Water conservation and effective rainwater and wastewater management also reduce the need for effluent discharge into local surface water supplies, which helps improve the health of local water ecosystems.

401 resources

Water Conservation and Pollution Mitigation at the Source: A Cooperative Town-Gown & Private Sector Mission for a Sustainable Future

  • Appalachian State University (NC)

With less than one percent of accessible freshwater on Earth available for drinking water, there is a critical need to conserve and recycle water. In addition, municipal water and wastewater ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Campus Landscape: Turning Site Problems into Green Infrastructure Solutions

  • South Dakota State University (SD)

In the fall of 2012 our faculty and student design team submitted a plan for the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Rainworks Challenge. Teams were invited to create ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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How Low Can You Go? UF Sorority Water Challenge

  • University of Florida (FL)

This spring, 13 sororities at the University of Florida competed to reduce water use in their houses. The competition aimed to raise awareness about the importance of water conservation for ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Harnessing Seawater: A Sustainable Solution for Thermal Comfort

  • Southern Maine Community College (ME)

The installation of an innovative sea water heat exchange system in Casco Bay is an example of sustainable technology recently implemented during the renovation of the Lighthouse Building at Southern ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Using Partnerships to Forward Campus Sustainability Through Student Green Funds and Innovative Restoration

  • Southern Oregon University (OR)

Looking to create a sustainability fund on your campus, but need a little help? Learn how one university partnered with a non-profit foundation to launch a successful campaign to pass ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Flexible Urban Water Systems for the Adaptation of Campuses to Future Change Pressures

  • University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)

Water systems for new campuses or the major extension of existing campuses are designed for long operational life span of up to 50 years. However local change drivers such as ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Using History to Build the Sustainable Campus of the Future: Three Case Studies on the Waterways of Wisconsin

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)

Creating a campus-wide commitment to sustainability begins with cultivating a sense of place. As campus communities learn to value their places, their landscapes, and neighborhoods, they build dedication to preservation ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Creating a Learning Environment With Storm Water Management

  • Delta College (MI)

Utilizing the physical campus environment can create an engaging experience for teaching and learning and can serve as an invitation for community partnership and participation. With Federal government placing more ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Managing a Global Resource: Campus Water Management Practices

  • University of Illinois Chicago (IL)

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is located approximately 2 miles from Lake Michigan, one of the six Great Lakes. The Great Lakes are the largest surface freshwater system ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Fostering Sustainable Behaviour Through Energy and Water Reduction Competitions: Best Practices from Campus Conservation Nationals 2012

  • Bowling Green State University (OH)
  • Elon University (NC)
  • Atrius (CA)

During fall of 2010 and spring of 2012 hundreds of colleges and universities participated in Campus Conservation Nationals, an electricity and water use reduction competition in residential housing. The goals ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Banning Bottled Water on the College Campus; Beyond Excuses

  • Pacific Lutheran University (WA)

This paper examines case studies of three very different universities across the US and Canada, all of whom have enacted a policy of responsible water management in their purchasing. They ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainable Site Initiatives: Incorporating Reuse Water and On-Site Storm Water Management Techniques

  • Georgia Southern University (GA)

As a major regional university located in the southeast, this presentation will focus on sustainable techniques used to address both drought and storm water management issues. Be it climate change ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Coca-Cola and Colorado State University: Model of a Sustainable Partnership

  • Colorado State University (CO)
  • Coca-Cola (GA)

This session's objective is to describe and inspire opportunities for corporate-academic partnerships in environmental sustainability. The session is motivated with specific examples of partners leveraging their abilities in collaborative ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Water, Waste and Landscaping:How Old Dominion University Facilities Management Manages and Practices Sustainability

  • Old Dominion University (VA)

The main goal for my presentation is to share information with attendees on how Old Dominion University Facilities Management manages water, waste and landscaping into our sustainability efforts. ODU made ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainable Water Consumption in Two Kentucky Higher Education Communities

  • Hopkinsville Community College (KY)
  • Western Kentucky University (KY)

Concern about the environmental and economic implications of bottled water motivated a multi-method study on two college campuses in Kentucky: Western Kentucky University and Hopkinsville Community College. Survey and interview ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Making Every Drop Count - Impact of Irrigation Retrofit at the U of Minnesota

  • University of Minnesota, Morris (MN)
  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)

In the spring and summer of 2012 our university is conducting a joint applied research project with The Toro Company to evaluate the impact of optimizing irrigation control systems and ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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UCSB Water Action Plan

  • University of California, Santa Barbara (CA)

Water use and water shortages have the ability to create economic, social, and political conflicts. Over much of California, water management issues are magnified by the state's growing population ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Residence Hall Water Battle Competition

  • Alliance to Save Energy (CA)

Water and energy are intertwined- energy is used to extract and convey water to end-users and water is essential during different stages of energy production. Students involved in our multi-campus ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Drought Conditions in Texas and Oklahoma: Rethinking University Water Consumption

  • Texas Tech University (TX)

The La Niña weather pattern has caused severe drought conditions in Oklahoma and Texas, especially in West Texas since late 2010. As a result, communities as well as universities have ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Teach the Tap

  • Portland State University (OR)

Safe drinking water is the core resource for all civilizations -- without it cities cannot thrive. We take this for granted when talking about sustainability and it is rarely discussed. Sustainable ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Cooling Tower Wastewater Recycling with Smart Integrated Membrane Systems

  • University of California, Los Angeles (CA)

The feasibility of reclaiming potable-quality water from the UCLA Co-Generation (CoGen) plant cooling tower blowdown wastewater was evaluated using a novel integrated ultrafiltration (UF)/Reverse Osmosis (RO) membrane system in ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Green Infrastructure at the University of Louisville

  • University of Louisville (KY)

On August 4, 2009 a storm hit the University of Louisville with 7" of rain in 30 minutes. Although not located on a stream or river, flooding damage exceeded $22 ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A New Sustainable Method for Filtering Storm Water Runoff

  • University of California, Riverside (CA)

Storm water runoff is a major source of surface water contamination that contains oil and sediment. Conventional filters create waste because they cannot be recycled and have to be thrown ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Estimating the energy and greenhouse gas emissions embedded in metered water at the University of Arizona

  • University of Arizona (AZ)

Located in the center of the Tucson metropolitan area, the University of Arizona obtains its water from a system of on-site wells and a municipal water system that includes significant ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Water Management Planning at Universities

  • Virginia Commonwealth University (VA)

As bulk consumers of water, universities can have a significant impact on their community's water resources. One particular public university in Virginia consumes over one million gallons of potable ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Creating a Water Action Plan: Water Footprinting at Higher Education Institutions

  • George Washington University (DC)

Universities are increasingly well versed in the measurement and tracking of their carbon emissions. While it is important for institutions to continue to tackle global climate change, water scarcity is ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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From Acid Rain to Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Drilling: Student Benefits of Community-based Learning

  • Dickinson College (PA)

A co-curricular, service learning program (CCSLP), housed in the Environmental Studies Department at a small liberal arts college, promotes a national model for college-community partnerships by 1) building and enhancing ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Organizing Campuses to Think Outside the Bottle

  • American University (DC)
  • Edison Energy (CA)

At a time when the global water crisis is looming large, leaving over a billion people without access to enough safe drinking water to meet their basic needs, students are ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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EcoCommons establishes Ecological Performance for entire campus, provides distinctive sense of identify, place, sustainability

  • Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)

In the higher education arena, our institute has one of the most advanced and forward-thinking sets of building standards for environmental stewardship, sustainable design, and energy management. Strategically, sustainability is ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Just Tap It: Reducing Bottled Water Consumption through Curricular / Co-Curricular Partnerships

  • Muhlenberg College (PA)

We present a case study of a student-driven initiative to promote sustainability on a small liberal arts campus by reducing bottled water sales. In Spring 2008, students in "Environmental Communication ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Fracking with Higher Education: Student Activism and Mobilization in the National and Local Context

  • New York University (NY)

What does the modern student movement look like on today's college campuses? How do they mobilize, communicate, and orchestrate their action? What are their tactics? Sit-ins? Boycotts? Petitions? Facebook ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Embodied Energy of Water

  • Organica Water (NJ)

Too often energy conservation and water conservation are separated as two very distinct and separate issues. The reality of it is that they are both very much interdependent. Energy is ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Zero Environmental Impact and the Water Hurdle

  • Organica Water (NJ)

There is a vision and a movement toward buildings with zero environmental impact. It can be said, that the only building that truly doesn't have an impact on the ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Banning Bottled Water on Your Campus is Not Impossible

  • Pacific Lutheran University (WA)

This panel would consist of three representatives from very different universities across the US and Canada, all of whom have banned the sale of bottled water at their institution. This ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Would You Like Crabs With That? A Complex Systems Simulation of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

  • University of Virginia (VA)

Over the past two years an interdisciplinary group of faculty from a major research university has designed and built a web-based multiplayer simulation game of the Chesapeake Bay watershed with ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Addressing Land, Water & Biodiversity on an Urban Campus

  • Yale University (CT)

Many urban campuses are intertwined with the layout of the surrounding city. Sharing streets, neighborhoods, and green spaces requires that we manage the physical campus in a locally, integrated way ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Expanding Campus Initiatives to Include a Water Action Plan

  • Agnes Scott College (GA)

Colleges and universities are the model for environmental stewardship across the nation. At the forefront of sustainability, institutions that sign the ACUPCC have made it clear that a reduction in ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Ecologically Engineered Ecosystems For Water Recycle In High Density Environments

  • Virginia Commonwealth University (VA)
  • NextEra Distributed Water, Inc. (VA)

Universities consume a substantial amount of fresh water for sanitary purposes, heating, cooling and irrigation applications. Water rate increases, scarcity and regulatory compliances have created an awareness leading to water ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Maintaining Momentum with Energy and Water Conservation Projects and Campaigns

  • Metropolitan State University of Denver (CO)
  • University of Colorado Denver - Anschutz Medical Campus (CO)

The Auraria Campus, in downtown Denver, home to the Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver and the University of Colorado Denver is now a leader in water ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Watershed Awakening: Connecting College and Community to a Shared Place

  • Calvin University (MI)

Frustrated by the local faith community's lack of concern for watershed issues , the Department of Environmental Quality approached Calvin College, a faith-based college, to assist them in their efforts ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Survey of Water Management at University and College Campuses

  • Duke University (NC)

The effective management of water is necessary as water resources become increasingly scarce and variable through inefficient consumption, pollution, and climate change. Integrated water resource management is recommended to sustainably ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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How to Kick the Bottle with Bottled Water Alternatives

  • American University (DC)

Learn how to replace bottled water with alternatives in order to cut solid waste, reduce upstream water consumption, save money, ensure human health, and protect the public water supply. Many ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Tapping into Sustainability

  • Coastal Carolina University (SC)

Think Outside the Bottle is a campaign working to promote, protect and ensure public funding for our public water systems. We're working with tens of thousands of public officials ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Research and Teaching Opportunities With an On-Campus Ecological Wastewater Treatment System

  • Furman University (SC)

Advanced wetland treatment systems combine the energy efficiency of natural ecological processes with the small footprint and stringent effluent standards of conventional wastewater treatment systems and provide multiple teaching and ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Drink Local, Drink Tap: Turning On a New Campus Water Culture

  • Pacific University (OR)

The privatized water industry has subtly grown during the past few decades, establishing itself in American culture as the sole source for clean drinking water. Most consumers are unaware that ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Hydration Stations: How perception influences Portland State University's water sustainability

  • Portland State University (OR)

While universities often talk about sustainability, how do we actually measure the impact of our actions? How are the outcomes of campus initiatives influenced by students' perspectives? The social and ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Net Zero and Water Regenerative Campus

  • Stanford University (CA)

Net Zero and Water Regenerative Campus

A recent report stated that Stanford University uses 2.7 million gallons of water per day. University medical centers can use over 600 gallons ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Campus as a Learning, Living Laboratory for Sustainability

  • University of Arizona (AZ)

At the 2006 AASHE national conference, University of Arizona (UA) student Emilie Brill-Duisberg received the Student Sustainability Leadership Award for her work on implementing campus water harvesting projects which grew ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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From Exceptional Drought to Long-term Water Efficiency

  • Duke University (NC)
  • North Carolina State University (NC)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC)

During the record-breaking drought of 2007, three universities rose to the challenge. UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, and NC State - the largest water consumers in their markets - improved their water infrastructure ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Successful Integration of Waste Diversion - 76% and counting!

  • San Francisco State University (CA)

This presentation will be a case study demonstrating San Francisco State University's success in integrating its waste diversion program into all aspects of the campus community. In 2006, SF ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.

All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.

OP 21: Water Use

OP 22: Rainwater Management

Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.

Water Partners