Sustainability

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Background

UCR is located in a semi-arid climate and receives about ten inches of rain annually. Potable water is supplied to the campus by the City of Riverside, which takesmost of its water from underground aquifers in the San Bernardino/Riverside area. Historically, 60 percent the potable water used at UCR is applied to landscaping. A significant amount of new landscaping is anticipated as UCR develops the West Campus. Both the 2005 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) and this Sustainability Action Plan recommend that drought-tolerant and native and/or adapted plants, in conjunction with low-water landscape design strategies and technologies, be standard practice for new development to reduce irrigation potable water use.

A large portion of the campus’s building stock is 1960s vintage, when the UCR experienced a boom in construction and enrollment. For the two decades following little construction occurred until the university’s next growth spurt in the 1990s. This pattern of growth means that numerous campus buildings are equipped with plumbing fixtures and fittings that meet less stringent water efficiency standards than those required by current building code.

Best Practices

In 1980 UCR installed a computer-based irrigation system to manage its water use. To capitalize on developments in irrigation technology since then, the campus is converting the original system to a Toro Sentinel weather-based irrigation system.

Short Term Goals

1. Set a per capita water use goal for 2015
2. Reduce potable water used to irrigate landscape by 10 percent
3. Conduct building water audits
4. Establish minimum flow standards for all water-using fixtures
5. Pilot high-efficiency and dual flush toilet fixtures
6. Design an educational component to water conservation efforts
7. Apply for water rebates through the Save A Buck program
8. Develop a water efficiency retrofit program

Intermediate Goals

1. Reduce potable water use per square foot of building space
2. Reduce potable water used to irrigate landscape by 20 percent
3. Install sub-metering for irrigation water
4. Pilot water-saving urinals
5. Formally adopt water-saving toilet specifications
6. Demonstrate best practices in landscape water conservation
7. Commit to a minimum point threshold in the LEED Water Efficiency credit category
8. Pilot gray water technology

Long Term Goals

1. Achieve the per capita water use 2015 goal set in the short term goals
2. Reduce potable water used to irrigate landscape by 50 percent on the East
   campus, and irrigate 100 percent of the West campus with non-potable water
3. Require water sub-metering in all new construction projects
4. Expand use of gray water