Water
GOAL: Net zero water. Reduce water use by 120M gallons.
Goal update
Baseline: 225,164,787 gallons
June 2017 Update: 179,552,945 gallons (19% reduction)
Goal: 104,625,094 gallons
Cumulative savings: Since 2012, the Medical Center has saved over 243,000,000 gallons of water—the equivalent to 368 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The Medical Center water goal represents the natural water budget provided on campus, or the amount of water that falls on the campus as rain or snow in an average year. Water use on campus falls into three categories. Building (indoor) water use accounts for the largest amount of water used. Chillers and boilers, which are used to cool and heat buildings, are the second largest water users. And irrigation (outdoor) water use accounts for the least amount of water used on campus. There are multiple efforts across campus to reduce water use.
2018 Efforts
Landscaping.
The Medical Center campus continues to do a great job of incorporating water sensitive landscaping while still maintaining an attractive campus for staff, students, and visitors. Ornamental plants and bushes, instead of turf grass, inhabit much of campus. These plants are more attractive than turf grass, require less water, and require less maintenance once established.
Leaks.
The Facilities Team is diligently reviewing the water system on campus to catch and repair leaks to reduce the amount of water loss on campus.
Upgrades.
The Facilities Team continues to update older systems with newer, more water efficient technology including faucets with aerators, new water softeners, and a new dishwasher in the Nebraska Café.
2019 Projects
Every Drop Counts.
The LiveGreen Ambassadors are conducting a campaign designed to find specific ways to use less water called “Every Drop Counts”.