Water

Background | What Can You Do? | For More Information | Get Involved! | Helpful Links

Background

Great Potential to Conserve

The average person in North America and Japan uses about 100 gallons of water each day, the average European uses 50 gallons each day, and the average for a Sub-Saharan African is 2 to 5 gallons a day.  Our potential for conservation is enormous.  Our overuse is not only adversely affecting human health and survival but also endangering ecosystems, particularly aquatic systems.   As we dam, divert, and pollute more water we disrupt natural systems that renew and filter the water we need to drink, cook, clean, and irrigate.  The growing population of the Eastern Slope of Colorado is exhausting our limited water supply and placing pressure on the Western Slope and their water sources, which are dispersed to many western states.  As we change water flows, invasive plants can invade, evaporation rates can increase, and our future water supplies can decrease in quantity and quality. 

Quality

To ensure the safety of our water for downstream users from plants to people, we have to protect the quality upstream.  Household wastes such as fertilizers, cleaning products, detergents, dog waste, and car oil significantly add-up to a water quality problem in Boulder Creek.  On campus, chemicals from laboratories, art studios, cleaning products, and parking-lot run-off challenge us to be mindful of our water sources and waste disposal in our academic, research, artistic, and transportation endeavors.  To help keep our water safe to use don’t put hazardous wastes down the drain such as chemicals, paints, and cleaning products, take your car to a car-wash rather than washing it in your driveway, pick up your dog’s poo, don’t over-fertilize your lawn and use organic fertilizers, watch for oil or other leaks from your car, support public transportation, bicycling, and walking instead of increased parking lots, and make sure your trash doesn’t end up in the creek!  

Where Does Your Water Come From?

Boulder is located in a semi-arid region and receives an average of fourteen to eighteen inches of precipitation each year.   Boulder receives 40% of its water from Barker Reservoir, east of Nederland, 40% from the Silver Lake Watershed, and 20% from Boulder Reservoir with some water coming from the western slope, Colorado Big Thompson Project.  These watersheds rely on snowmelt, precipitation, streams, and lakes to replenish the larger reservoirs downstream. 

Campus Info

The water program at CU is part of Generation Green, a partnership between the Environmental Center and Facilities Management to promote energy and water conservation.  Generation Green works to educate campus students, faculty, and staff about how and why to save water and helps make campus facilities use water as efficiently as possible.  We explore new ways to reduce our water consumption and to reach campus users in various ways. 

Facilities Management has implemented many projects that have decreased our usage by 10-20 percent each year for the last 4 years!  Savings in water costs from 2003-2004 to 2004-2005 were $256,500!  Some of the projects they started include:

Converting campus restroom fixtures to low water flow fixtures.

• Completed the Engineering Center
• Using Commercially Available Retro-Fit Kit
• Also being done at Porter and Muenzinger Buildings

Powerhouse Closed-Loop Piping Network implemented in July 2002.

• Conserves 21 million gallons each year
• Saves $80,000 each year

Joint Institute fro Laboratory Astrophysics using process chilled water in closed-loop piping to cool laser generators implemented November 2004.

• Funded by Research Building System
• Conserves 25 million gallons each year
• Saves $100,000 each year
• Cost $215,000

Replaced water driven aspirators in Cristol Chemistry with laboratory vacuum pumps completed in July 2003.

• Conserves 10 million gallons each year
• Saves $40,000 each year
• Cost $75,000

Installed temperature sensor and control valves on two furnaces (Electrical Engineering Integrated Circuit Fabrication Shop) reducing the water flow from 100 gallons per hour to 20 gallons per hour.

• Conserves 1.4 million gallons each year
• Saves $5,600 each year
• Cost $3,200

Using process-chilled water in new closed-loop piping network to cool research microscopes in Porter Biosciences starting January 2003. 

• Conserves 1 million gallons each year
• Saves $4,000 each year
• Cost $5,000

Designed and Installed high-pressure process chilled water system to cool the Environmental Chambers (Electronics Hardware Testing) at LASP (Research Park) and eliminated pass-through water. 

• Funded by Research Building System
• Conserves 4.2 million gallons each year
• Saves $15,500 each year
• Cost $100,000

Irrigation Water Conservation Efforts

• Conserved 7.8 million gallons by shifting several fields to raw water in 2002
• Converted additional Housing Department Landscaping at Smiley and Newton Court to ditch water irrigation in 2003
  

Great Results

As the graph below depicts…water use has been declining!

What Can You Do?

Tips:

• Report leaks in faucets, showers, and sprinklers and running toilets to 5-6202 or energyconservationhotline@fm.colorado.edu
• Save 2,700 gallons of water each year for one dripping faucet.
• Save 30-500 gallons per day for a running toilet. 
• When washing dishes, turn off the water while soaking and scraping off food.
• Save 2-5 gallons each minute. 
• Take shorter showers and turn off the water while washing hair and lathering. 
• Save 2-5 gallons each minute
• Do only full loads of laundry and use minimum water level. 

Save 40 gallons for each load:

• Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth and shaving.  Use a bowl of water to rinse your razor.
• Save 2-5 gallons each minute.
• While waiting for water to warm or cool, save that water for plants, pets, or put it in the fridge to drink later.
• Save 2-5 gallons each minute. 
• Don’t use the garbage disposal, instead throw away or compost food scraps.
• Use the wastebasket to throw away items rather than flushing them down the toilet.
• Teach water awareness to your roommates and co-workers! 
• Get Involved! Contact the Environmental Center at 303 492 8308, email Deborah Bock at deborah.bock@colorado.edu, or stop by UMC 355.

For more information

The Blueprint for a Green Campus is a visionary and practical document that lays out the goals and action steps to bring the university closer to sustainability over the next five years.  The water chapter of the Blueprint is a new section written with the collaboration of facilities management, housing, the City of Boulder water conservation and quality programs, the law school, landscaping, students, and others.  The goals and action steps of this chapter present many opportunities to address the water conservation and quality potential for CU.

Vision

CU will educate every campus user on how and why to conserve, appropriately use, and protect the quality and quantity of water sources.  CU will act on water conservation opportunities to reach our minimum annual goal of a five percent water reduction each year for the next five years and continue to be a national campus leader, setting and exceeding the standard in water conservation and quality efforts.

To see draft go to….http://ecenter.colorado.edu/blueprint06/

Brochure:  The brochure has information and tips about water use at CU and in Boulder. 

Click Here to report water waste!

Get Involved!

Creek Clean Ups

The Environmental Center hosts one to two  Boulder Creek Clean-Ups a year
with university students and youth from the community.  These events are a
great way to get outside, help the environment, meet other people and have
fun!  All materials are provided.  Stay tuned for future clean ups.

We are always looking for interested volunteers to help with our water
program.

For questions, ideas, or to get involved contact:

Robert.Hall@colorado.edu or 303 492 8308.

Helpful Links

• www.colorado.edu/conservation Find out what CU is doing for water conservation in facilities management, view the conservation reports of the last several years, and report water-waste on campus here. 
• http://bouldersaveswater.net The comprehensive site for Boulder water conservation and information with a video on Boulder's water system. 
• www.basin.org Boulder Area Sustainability Information Network has great information on our local watershed and current water issues. 
• http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/wash Watershed Approach to Stream Health Project is a partnership with communities in the Boulder Creek and Saint Vrain watersheds.  A great resource for water quality education and outreach. 
• www.waterwiser.org The American Water Works Association's website on water conservation with helpful links and tips. 
• www.xratedgardening.com A guide to xeriscape gardening. 
• www.cfwe.org Colorado Foundation for Water Education provides education and information on water resource topics in Colorado.