UC San Diego

Water Conservation Summit

June 2, 2009

THE CAMPUS AS A LIVING LABORATORY FOR CLIMATE SOLUTIONS

A History in Climate Research

Square Feet of Facility Space(in millions)

City of San Diego

UC San Diego

SDSU

Qualcomm6

8

11

5

11 million sq. ft . of facility space, if we were a landlord, we would be one of the largest in San Diego

Included in the daily population of 45,000, we have over 8,000 student residents living oncampus

Campus Quick Facts

Square Feet of Facility Space(in millions)

8

11

Currently one of the largest water users in San Diego, however, we have a plan!

While the campus has grown water use has remained constant and water intensity has decreased:

• gals/sf 8%

• gals/capita 7%

Campus Quick Facts

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Gal

lons

FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13

Potable Water ConservationActual Goal

Future resource availability may Inhibit UCSD’S operations

Resource Intensive Research University

$1B of new buildings every 5 years

Severe Operating Budget Reductions

Restrictions from State and University

Our Challenges

Smart Grid Infrastructure

Faculty Leadership

E6E1 E7 E4

E9

Recycling &Conservation

E5

E10

Strategic Partnerships

E11

Student Involvement

E12E7

Methane & Fuel Cells

E8

Water Resources and WindEnergy

E9

Transportation

E2

Facilities &Operations

E3

Building Design

PhotovoltaicTHINKSOLAR

ENERGY

Advanced Energy Storage

12 Key Elements of Strategy

UC San Diego is helping California solve the water dilemma

San Diego is in a drought condition…Lake Mead could be dry by 2021

Water use is reduced by:

• Reclaimed water for irrigation

• Planting natural vegetation

• Wx monitoring/soil moisturecontrolled watering

• 1/3 of campus has low flow water fixtures

UC San Diego Reclaimed Water

System

Lake Mead

Continue to be a Leader in Carbon Reduction and Energy Efficiency

An Award winning program:

• 6 Best Practice Awards

• 3 Excellence in Energy Efficiency Awards

• 2 Energy Education & Leadership Awards

Completed $60M in energy retrofits reducing energy use by 20% or 50M kWh/yr, saving UCSD $12M annually.

Even with increased energy intensive activities and

growth, facility retrofits have decreased energy

consumption per sq. ft.

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BTU/SF

2009-2014: Invest $66M (49+17) to achieve

35M kWh/hr reduction

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At a Minimum, Design all Future Campus Buildings toLEED Silver or Gold Standards

[Rady or Liechtag]

Due to higher capital cost of meeting these standards, the campus will look for donor support to augment building budgets.

UCSD will exceed UC LEED by achieving a Silver-equivalent rating on all new buildings.

All new construction requireswater efficient fixtures.

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Transpiration & wind blocks reduce energy by 12,886 MWh

Sequestration & energy reduction reduces CO2 over 10,000 tons each year

Campus forest traps and filters 140M gallons/yr of storm water.

Value to campus is over $2.2M each year.

The Campus Forest Reduces CO2, Saves Energy, and Absorbs Pollutants

Master Plan Includes Water Conservation

“Low water use plants and native plants are required.”

“Turf areas are used for functional programmed spaces only.”

Water Conservation is a result of commitment to community stewardship and an understanding of the campus’ relationship to the environment.

Water management starts with campus planning:

•Long Range Development Plan

•Campus Master Plan

Conserving our Water Resources

Daily Water Conservation activities strengthen our conservation efforts.

Central Irrigation

Daily Inspection

Training

Sustainable Water Use

Conserving our Water Resources

Centralized Irrigation• Controls watering

schedule• Report high & low

flow…system shutdown when break detected

• Linked to weather station

Daily Water Conservation activities strengthen our conservation efforts.

Central Irrigation

Daily Inspection

Training

Sustainable Water Use

Conserving our Water Resources

Daily Efforts• Repair simple irrigation problems

while performing daily tasks

• Use soil probe to check moisture levels

• Look for run off

• Time run off

Daily Water Conservation activities strengthen our conservation efforts.

Central Irrigation

Daily Inspection

Training

Sustainable Water Use

Conserving our Water Resources

Regular Training• Conduct monthly education meetings.

• Encourage continued education:College coursesCertified Landscape Technician programWorkshops and seminars

• Employees teach each otherStaff present what they have learned at conferences, workshops, and seminars

Daily Water Conservation activities strengthen our conservation efforts.

Central Irrigation

Daily Inspection

Training

Sustainable Water Use

Conserving our Water Resources

Reclaimed Water Use• UCSD was one of the first to connect to

North City Reclamation Plant

• 30% of water used for irrigation is reclaimed water

• Using reclaimed for irrigation saves the campus ~25% in water & sewer costs

Conserving our Water Resources

Before

AfterMP Rotators•Replacement of ~ 8,000 standard spray heads for a savings of 103,000,000 gallons over the life of the nozzle.•More efficient because water is applied more slowly and evenly.•Use 30% less water even though they’re run 2X as long as sprays.•Multi-trajectory rotating streams provide uniformity •Automatic matched precipitation even after arc & radius adjustment •Low application rate reduces runoff on slopes & tight soils

COMPARISON15H Spray Nozzle MP2000 90-210

1.85 gpm 0.63 gpm x 10 min run time x 20 min run time

= 18.5 gal = 12.6 galSAVINGS = 5.9 gal or 31.9%

Above and Beyond

AQUAholics 12 step process for a sustainable water footprint.

Sustainable Operations Working Group is implementing plans for water conservation.

Campus is partnering with the City and other agencies to:

Extend the recycled water systemFund irrigation system retrofitsInstall low flow building water fixturesReplace turf with drought tolerant plants

A 25% reduction in water use!

Water Conservation must become a way of life on and off campus.

UCSD is taking steps to go above and beyond the City Drought restrictions:

•Limiting irrigation to 3 days per week.

•Shutting off fountains

•Vehicle and equipment washing limited.

•Repairing leaks in less than 24 hours.

Conserving our Water Resources

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Create Leading Sustainability Program with Focus on Student and Community Involvement

Involve students in photovoltaics, weather station network, water conservation

Provide incentives for multidisciplinary student collaboration

Applying New Technology

Become a Global Demonstration Project for Sea Water Cooling

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Seawater Cooling could save $4M/yr in energy and100M gallons of water per year.

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A Leading Sustainability Research Program with Focus on Basic Research, Applied Research, and Prototyping

Existing faculty experts are being augmented with new positions

Providing an environment for multidisciplinary academic collaboration

Micro-algaeHigh densityNo food competitionSaltwater / wastewater

Advanced BiofuelProgram: Algae

UC San Diego has a goal of becoming a

global model of sustainability for

universitiesand communities alike.

Greening the Economy