Efficient Water Use

1
Environmental Audit at Villanova University
Biology 1555 Spring - 2003
Automotive Efficiency on Campus
Efficient Water Use
Computer Energy in the Quad
Green Dining

• Objective
• To research and evaluate the current situation of
  vehicles on campus and to develop alternative
  solutions to limiting the environmental impact
  and economic costs.

• Objective
• To determine which living-style is more water
  efficient, South Campus dorms or West Campus
  apartments and St. Marys. To the answer to this
  question we compared the amount of water used in
  both locations.

• Objective
• Advocating Styrofoam alternatives in Villanova
  Universitys dining halls.

• Objective
• To quantify the energy used by computers in
  Sullivan and Sheehan Halls in order to calculate
  the environmental impact of this energy use.

• Current Situation
• There are over 200 vehicles used by Villanova
  University, including passenger cars, trucks,
  small equipment such as mowers and leaf blowers,
  and passenger and utility vans.
• An average annual delivery of gas on campus is
  approximately 4,000 gallons.
• The amount of gas used in 2002 was approximately
  4,475 gallons.
• The University is paying about 0.75 less a
  gallon than the market price.
• Only super unleaded gasoline is distributed from
  the campus pump, which ranges in price from about
  1.60-1.80
• Problems
• Tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks account
  for almost a third of the air pollution in the
  United States (EPA).
• Some of the choices of vehicles that the
  University uses are not advisable according to
  the Environmental Protection Agency
• For example, the Mail Services, Custodial
  Services, Campus Ministry, Facilities, and Dining
  Services use Dodge Vans, which are ranked one out
  of a possible five stars for positive
  environmental impact (EPA).
• Economic cost of vehicles, insurance,
  registration, repairs, and gas and oil.

• Current Situation
• Styrofoam
• Non-Biodegradable
• Made from Petroleum, a non-renewable resource
• When it is Produced
• Releases CO2 , a greenhouse gas
• Releases CO, an air pollutant
• Pollutes H2O

• Current Situation
• Two Types of Dorms
• Traditional Dorms
• Dorm buildings on South have
• community bathrooms and a
• larger dining hall to accommodate
• the needs of the residents.
• Apartment-Style Dorms
• Apartment buildings on West include
  self-kitchens, with and two bathrooms per four
  people in an apartment.
• The University may be considering the
  construction of a new residence hall.

• Current Situation
• 54 million office computers
• use 1 of the nations electricity.
• More than half of the electricity
• used to power computers is wasted
• 60 left on at night.
• 45 of monitors not power managed.
• Power management places monitor in
• low-power sleep mode after a period of
• inactivity (Source EPA).
• From this information, we inferred that this type
  of behavior may also occur at Villanova.

• Alternatives
• Find the type of living style that makes the best
  use of water.
• Traditional dorms with communal kitchens
• Larger apartments
• Use of recycled water (for non-potable uses)

• Alternatives
• You can do nothing at all to change your computer
  habits.
• Shut off your computer completely when not in
  use.
• Or, you can minimize environmental impacts by
  using stand-by to conserve energy.

• Evaluation
• South Campus (Traditional Dorms)
• In the year 2002, the University paid a total of
  113,789.00 for water usage for 1,296 residents
  on campus.
• The total amount of water used was 31,140,924
  gallons.
• In the year 2002, it cost the University 7.00
  per month, per resident.
• Each resident consumed an average of 2,002
  gallons of water.
• West Campus (Apartment-Style Dorms)
• In the year 2002, the University paid a total of
  126,971.00 for water usage for 1,482 residents
  on campus.
• The total amount of water used was 38,054,300
  gallons.
• In the year 2002, it cost the University 7.00
  per month, per resident.
• Each resident consumed an average of 2,140
  gallons of water.

• Alternatives
• Utility carts
• The campus currently uses roughly 25 carts.
• Hybrid/Electric cars
• Propane-powered vehicles
• A possible interdepartmental rental system to
  decrease the number of vehicles that are not
  being used by one given department.

Its as Easy as 1, 2, 3 Go to the Start
Button Select Shutdown Go to options and select
Stand-by

• Alternatives
• Starch Based Plastics
• Biodegradable
• Made from renewable resource, such as starch or
  corn
• When it is Produced
• If 2 of US market used this product it would
  reduce CO2 emissions by 140 million pounds in one
  year.
• If 3 US market used starch-related products 4.2
  million feet of landfill space.

http//www.nrdc.org/air/energy/utilprof/peco.asp

• Evaluation
• Even though shutting down the computer conserves
  the most amount of energy, we realize that
  students probably wont comply with this for
  various reasons (e.g., Instant Messenger).
• Therefore, we feel everyone should use stand-by
  in order to save energy
• During orientation there could be a session in
  which students would receive their lap-tops and
  learn how to manually put their computer in
  sleep, stand-by or hibernation.

statistics for all graphs found at
www.fueleconomy.gov

• Evaluation
• We went several departments, including
  Facilities, Public Safety, Campus Ministry,
  Dining Services, and Mail Services, and found out
  information about the vehicles they use, how
  often they use them, and what they are used for.
• Not many people actually knew what they had, how
  it was used, and what they used it for. It made
  us feel like we were actually digging for
  information when it should be accessible and easy
  to find.
• For example, the Dining Services were not aware
  of who to contact about information regarding
  their vehicles, and records showed they had more
  vehicles than they were aware of.
• Since all of the departments keep track of
  mileage on gas cards, they are not aware of how
  much gas they are using.

• Recommendations
• We feel that students should be encouraged to use
  the stand-by mode, and perhaps offer students
  incentives for complying.
• A state in which your computer consumes less
  electric power when it is idle, but remains
  available for immediate use.
• Another option for students to implement in their
  attempt to conserve computer energy is
  hibernation.
• A state in which your computer saves any Windows
  settings that you changed, writes any information
  that is currently stored in memory to your hard
  disk, and turns off your computer.

• Evaluation
• In light of statistics and Villanovas Green
  Purchasing Plan we feel that starch based
  containers are better for the Villanova Campus
  Community and the Environment for all.

• Recommendations
• Due to the fact that the results were not
  significantly different, we are unable to
  recommend one living style over another, based on
  finances.
• One variable that was not taken into
  consideration is use of water in Donohue Hall on
  South Campus. Since students are not restricted
  from eating in Donohue, it serves more than South
  Campus alone.
• If this were taken into consideration, it would
  significantly increase the average water usage on
  South Campus.

• Recommendation
• Get it together! There is a great deal of
  confusion among departments vehicles need to be
  accounted for and assess their importance.
• The University should develop a centralized
  interdepartmental rental system to decrease the
  number of vehicles.
• Consider alternative sources to cut down on the
  amount of gasoline being used and the
  environmental problems.

• Recommendation
• We recommend that Villanova use starch based
  products in dining facilities rather than
  polystyrene.

• Project Group
• Melissa Ledesma, Sarah Hay, Courtney Biggins,
  Kristen Fanti, Laura Egan, Sheila Moynihan, Peter
  Casciano

• Project Group
• Meaghan Joyce, Michele May and Jessica Petrongolo

• Project Group
• Steve Schaffling, Kirstin Surdy, Alexandra
  Martinez, Matthew Szelag, Jerry Boyle, Ashley Cook

• Project Group
• Tim Dinan, Meg Jordan Ryan Killeen

Acknowledgements Special thanks to Tony Alfono,
Sara Carlson Michael McGuckin, Kevin O'Donnell,
Ric Laudenslager, Rachel Schaller, and James
Zaleski for their help in completing the audits.