On February 17th, the Land & Water iCAP team met to discuss the details of a permeable pavers recommendation. The team then split off into breakout rooms to organize future soil and water committee initiatives.
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- 5.3 Water Audit to establish conservation targets and facilities standard
- 2015 Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP)
Key Objective: 5.3 Water Audit to establish conservation targets and facilities standard
The 2015 iCAP, chapter 5, objective 3, is "Perform a water audit to establish water conservation targets — and determine upper limits for water demand by end-use — for incorporation into facilities standards by FY16."
Associated Metric
5.3 Number of Audits Completed
Explanation
The maximum reductions achievable by water conservation can be assessed using a bottom-up approach to estimate water needs by end-use across campus and the available best practices. This can form the basis for both refined water conservation targets and updated facilities standards for new construction, renovations, or retrofits of all buildings, facilities and auxiliaries. Campus facilities standards could be updated to reflect the intent to reduce the water use for campus buildings. These standards could define a maximum amount of water use per weighted user and per building area. In addition they could provide requirements that restrict or exclude landscape irrigation with potable water. These standards would apply to all new construction and renovations on our campus, including auxiliaries. The related facilities standards could be reviewed and updated every five years to incorporate technological advances. It is suggested that a campus-wide inventory of installed fixtures, appliances and equipment by building be implemented in FY16 along with usage/efficiency factors to assist in establishing the water conservation targets and recommended methods for achieving them. A listing of best available practices by water end-use along with estimated implementation costs could also be compiled and made available in FY16.