Willamette’s Footprint: Water
Water Use at Willamette
Water use accounts for 0.13% of the total ecological footprint at Willamette University. Although this is not a large percentage measures do need to be taken for its conservation.
In order to supply the amount of water that is consumed on campus, 0.008 acres of biologically productive land area is needed per person. In 2003-2004, 42, 325 units of water (each consumption unit equals 748 gallons of water) were employed for general use along with 14, 218 units for irrigation. This amounts to a total of 56,543 units or 14, 569 gallons of water consumed by each community member per year.*
Recent accomplishments:
- Replacement of all old faucets, shower heads, and toilets to low-flow water saving models
- The retrofitting of all campus toilets with new dual-flushing handles
- Plans to implement new technologies in the construction of Kaneko Commons such as water source heat pumps, a rainwater reclamation reservoir, and solar hot water heating
Recommendations for the future:
- Movement to change campus member’s consumption behaviors
- Continued adoption of new technologies
Here are some things that you can do to help conserve water**:
- Instead of running the faucet until it is cold, keep a jug of water in the refrigerator.
- Do not continuously run the faucet while brushing your teeth or shaving, only turn faucet on to rinse.
- Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Dispose of tissues, insects and other such waste in the trash rather than the toilet.
- Decrease length of showers
Related Material:
- To calculate how much water your leaky faucet wastes visit the City of Salem Drip Calculator: http://www.cityofsalem.net/~swater/wwdripcalc.htm
- City of Salem Water Conservation: http://www.cityofsalem.net/~swater/water_conservation.htm
- American Water & Energy Savers: 49 Ways to Save Water: http://www.americanwater.com/49ways.htm
* Data taken from interview with physical plant Operations Manager Gary Grimm and from the ecological footprint analysis for Willamette University, 2003-2004 academic year conducted by Nathan Sivers-Boyce’s Environmental Econ Class
** Some tips are from the sites noted above.