This paper describes successes, challenges and practical aspects of implementing water conservation
measures at a large university campus that is similar in many respects to a city of 25,000 people. The water
conservation program at Stanford University has reduced water usage by about 10 percent over the last
four years despite adding new buildings during the same period. Stanford is on schedule to meet its goal
of expanding the campus but holding water use down to a strict level, required by Santa Clara County.
In 2000, the university received a General Use Permit (GUP) from Santa Clara
County for development of additional 2,035,000 net square feet of academic and academic support
facilities (a 20 percent expansion). The approval of the 2000 GUP and the EIR resulted in specific
requirements, one of which was the completion of a Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling Master
Plan (Master Plan). The Plan's key requirement is for Stanford not to exceed its domestic water
allocation from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). SFPUC typically supplies
100% of the domestic water for Stanford University, with a daily average allocation of 3.033 million
gallons per day (mgd). The Master Plan and water conservation measures were submitted to Santa Clara County in December
2001. Implementation of the recommended water conservation measures began in earnest in 2001. To
date Stanford has partially implemented 10 of the 14 measures plus additional measures with variable
success. As of June 2005, the total cost for implementation of projects is $1.5 million, while the
estimated savings for completed projects are 0.26 mgd. Since most of the buildings on campus are metered, the total metered domestic water consumption is tracked monthly, while annual consumption
trends for key groups are reviewed in detail. This analysis has shown that conservation works to save
water; 9.6 percent of baseline demand has been saved to-date. Stanford is on track with the Plan's
estimated savings by 2005 and more than halfway to the goal of saving 16% of baseline consumption by
2010. The cost of conservation savings to-date is less than the current price of purchasing water from the
SFPUC so the conservation has been cost-effective.
Although the results of the Master Plan and Stanford's Water Conservation Program are site-specific, the
methodology for reviewing water use and metering data, establishing baseline consumption, and
developing water conservation measures is applicable to other educational institutions. Flexibility of the
final program and on-going evaluation of effectiveness of measures are critical to obtain best water
conservation results. The following topics are discussed:
history of campus development;
overview of Stanford's water system;
reviewing historical water use and metering data;
development of water conservation measures; and,
results of 2001-2005 water conservation efforts.
Includes tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 660 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 17 |
| Published : | 06/17/2005 |
