Educational Institutions

Implementing water conservation at schools, colleges, and universities offers two-fold benefits: the students receive practical education and experience on the merits of water conservation and water is saved at the facility. Replacing inefficient fixtures in educational institutions can yield large water savings due to the high person to fixture ratio.

Implementing water conservation in primary and secondary schools offers two-fold benefits; water is saved at the facility, and the students receive practical education and experience on the merits of water conservation. The high person/fixture ratio in K-12 schools results in very high frequency of use, which leads to a very fast payback on many conservation investments.   While the savings potential is huge, implementation is sometimes impeded by budgetary restrictions of the schools. When selecting water efficient equipment, it is important to consider durability and tamper resistance wherever students have access to the fixtures, equipment and appliances.  K-12 schools are considered one of the most abusive environments for sanitary fixtures.  

In university settings, water use can be quite complex, as it can include residential uses in dormitories, scientific research and laboratory systems, sports facilities, and more. For that reason, it is not practical or reasonable to perform one simple analysis of the benefits and costs of retrofits for the university as a whole. For example, the benefits and costs of replacing toilets in dormitories may be different than replacing toilets in a classroom building. When analyzing benefits and costs, it is ideal to analyze each building and facility separately, then combine the analyses into one comprehensive report.  

An effective strategy for water savings analysis should start with a grouping of functions for the facilities to better understand how water is used. The purpose is to analyze all of the uses in an organized manner, while analyzing each building or facility according to its specific water use profile. An initial water use analysis might be outlined as follows:

Student Housing

• Toilets
• Urinals
• Showerheads
• Faucets
• Clothes washers
• Cooling towers

Landscape Irrigation

• Common areas on campus
• Horticulture
• Intramural sport fields

Classroom Buildings

• Toilets
• Urinals
• Faucets
• Cooling Towers

Classroom Laboratories

• X-ray machines
• Ice machines
• Autoclaves
• Photo processing

Office Buildings

• Toilets
• Urinals
• Faucets
• Cooling Towers

Cafeterias & Food Service Facilities

• Dishwashers
• Pre-rise spray valves
• Food steamers
• Ice machines

Arenas & Stadiums

• Toilets
• Urinals
• Faucets
• Cooling towers
• Food steamers
• Ice machines

Specialized Facilities (requires special expertise)

• Pools
• Spas
• Research labs
• Power generation
• Horticulture
• Agriculture