Campus Community

Academics

Most of the toilets, faucets, showers and even urinals in academic buildings across campus have been retrofitted to more efficient, low-flow models.

Most of the landscaping in academic areas make use of evapo-transpiration (ET) irrigation controllers. This state-of-the-art irrigation system incorporates live weather data to water only when and how much is needed, making it possible to irrigate large turf areas like the Oval around 25% more efficiently.

Many of the once-through cooling systems used in laboratories (which cool by a constant flow of cold water) have been replaced by re-circulating systems that reuse the cold water to maximize cooling capacity.

Student Housing and Dining (Residential & Dining Enterprises)

Student Housing and Dining Services have undertaken many initiatives to encourage water conservation.

To date:

  • Over 90% of toilets have been upgraded to 1.6 gallon per flush units, all of the undergraduate residence showerheads are now 2.5 gallon per minute fixtures, and sinks are now flowing at 1.5 gallon per minute.
  • All meal plan students (3600) are given a reusable thermos for hot and cold beverages to reduce the use of disposables and bottled waters. Bottled waters were also eliminated in the central dining facilities and at catered events. Learn more about tap vs. bottled water and the impact on the environment.
  • Provided discount incentives for customers who bring in their own container for hot and cold beverages in all retail locations.
  • Switched to low water use dish washing machines which have cut water usage by 50% at those locations.
  • Installed low-flow valves for all spray heads in dish washing areas.

For more information about water conservation efforts in student housing and ways in which you can help save water in your residence visit the Student Housing Services Conservation Web Page.

Faculty and Staff Housing

Located on the southeastern edge of campus, the faculty/staff neighborhood stretches from the foothills at Junipero Serra Boulevard all the way to Page Mill Rd. Most water usage here is managed by individual homeowners and not the university. Nevertheless, Stanford Utilities has taken part in various water conservation programs for Faculty/Staff Housing.

There are currently rebates being offered for high-efficiency fixtures by the Santa Clara Valley Water District and Pacific Gas and Electric.  For more information, and to see if you qualify for these high-efficiency fixture rebates, please see rebate information.

Past water conservation programs have included awareness campaigns, free water audits, rebates for installing water-efficient landscaping and irrigation technology and even built a Water Wise Demonstration Garden (along Raimundo Way across from Wing Place) to encourage the community to adopt low-water-use landscaping around their homes. Sixty percent of the total water used in this area is for landscape irrigation, most of which occurs during the dry summer months. For more information on what you can do around your home and garden to help conserve water check out our water saving tips section.

Athletics

In 2008, improvements to athletic facilities include high-efficiency toilet and urinal retrofits. Some of the latest in low-flow fixture technology is currently being tested within the athletic facilities which consist of urinals that only use 0.125 gallon of water per flush (gpf), and toilets that only use 1.28 gpf.

And in 2005, the football practice field’s irrigation system, which uses 15,800 gallons of water per day, was converted to use non-potable lake water. Although irrigating with lake water only reduces Stanford’s domestic water demand and not its total water demand, such conversions help save domestic water for higher value uses like drinking and research.

Central Energy Cooling Tower Blow-down Wastewater Reuse

One of the water conservation measures included in the Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling Master Plan (pdf, large file) is the reuse of wastewater from cooling towers at the Central Energy Facility. Even though the cooling towers are managed efficiently and typically run 15 cycles, eventually on an average day about 50,000 gallons of wastewater is blown down (discharged) to the sanitary sewer. This wastewater does not contain solid waste and with treatment can be recycled and reused for non-potable uses, such as toilet and urinal flushing, and irrigation. The first Stanford building that is dual plumbed to use this water is the Environment and Energy Building.

Medical School

The Medical School has seen some of the most dramatic decreases in water use thanks to recent water conservation efforts. The Beckman and Fairchild Buildings in particular are now using 30 to 40 percent less water than before, saving almost 15 million gallons of water annually! In 2004, an analysis of the Beckman and Fairchild Building’s water usage prompted several water saving initiatives, including the installation of 1.6 gallon per flush toilets, water-efficient urinals, and low-flow faucet regulators on all regular and deionized water faucets.

Restricting the flow of deionized faucets makes a significant difference because a substantial amount of water is already wasted in the deionization process. Also, the installation of water mizer on the building’s autoclaves reduced water consumption considerably. Instead of running water 24 hours a day, the Water-Mizers sense when water is needed and shut off the flow when it is not. The chart below shows how water use at Fairchild dropped after retrofits were completed in the spring of 2004.

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