TLC
Water Usage in Eastern Shore, A Panacea for Water Waste
This project’s target area is the water usage in George Mason University residential hall, Eastern Shore. Water demand and usage management is critical to the conservation of natural ecosystems and management of human resources. The primary sources of water demand in Eastern Shore stems from sink and toilet usage that produces both grey and black wastewater. Toilet usage accounts for between 26 to 41 percent of the average household’s water usage (Uelmen et al., 2020). Older toilet fixtures are extremely water and energy inefficient. Additionally, there are many preexisting sink faucets that have yet to be replaced with more efficient fixtures in the residential halls. Another contributor to water waste in Eastern Shore is poor personal practices and behaviors. College students have been found to use 21.5 percent more water than the average American (Uelmen et al., 2020). Water usage on a university campus is similar to that of a medium sized city (Soares et al., 2021). By replacing antiquated sink fixtures with more efficient models, replacing toilets with ultra-low flush toilets (ULFT) equipped with dual flush systems, and providing more educational resources to residential students, water waste can be greatly reduced in the Eastern Shore residential hall.
Resource Characteristics and Interactions
Water waste decreases available water resources for ecological systems and puts pressure on sewage systems (Melville-Shreeve et al., 2021). In extreme circumstances, excessive water waste can cause aquifer depletion (EPA, 2017). Depleted aquifers can lower lake levels, harm aquatic wildlife and riparian vegetation (EPA, 2017). Stressors on aquifers and ground water sources are increasing because of changes in the Earth’s climate (EPA, 2017). Water usage is important to monitor and manage when possible in order to reduce the possible depletion of aquifers (EPA, 2017). Increased water usage can also place excessive pressure on sewage systems. This pressure can cause backages, drastically increase the energy used in treating sewage water, and force municipalities to expand sewage systems sooner (Melville-Shreeve et al., 2021).
Cultural Settings and User Characteristics
College students use a much higher percentage of water than average Americans (Uelmen et al., 2020). George Mason University charges students flat rates for housing that include utility bills. Because utility rates do not increase with increased use, residential students are more wasteful and use more water. Helping educate students on better water usage habits while early in their time residing in the dorms can help them develop better habits for the remainder of their residency and in their future lifestyles (Uelmen et al., 2020). However, when students are not educated on better water usage habits, water waste can increase greatly throughout a year. Many of these poor habits include excessive water use in dish washing, not turning off the faucet while teeth brushing, and turning the water pressure unnecessarily high. These poor habits are developed with a lack of education on better practices and little investment in reducing usage via utility costs.
What Can We Do?
Toilet fixtures in Eastern Shore are currently low volume systems. These toilets meet current US federal standards of 1.6 gallons of water per flush. However, these systems can be improved with ULFT dual flush systems. Water demand management systems can greatly reduce water usage and reduce pressure on sewage networks (Melville-Shreeve et al., 2021). Dual flush systems allow users to choose between regular flush strength and a much lighter flush. This gives users the ability to reduce water use per flush when possible. Dual flush systems can reduce water usage by allowing users to choose the regular, larger flush strength only when necessary (Melville-Shreeve et al., 2021). Upgraded toilets can reduce water usage by 54 percent and reduce utility bills per unit by roughly $2,380 over the life of the unit (Uelmen et al., 2020).
University policy on replacing sink faucets and fixtures focuses on waiting out the life cycle of existing features and replacing them with newer, more efficient faucets only after existing fixtures have broken. The current model for transition to more efficient sink faucets is too slow. By replacing all sink faucets over a break or between semesters when residential halls are empty and uninhabited, water waste and usage can be immediately reduced. By completing sink fixture updates, water usage could be reduced by up to 18 percent (Soares et al., 2021).
Eastern Shore residential halls provide very little educational resources for residential students. Small stickers asking students to reduce time spent in the shower are placed inside of suite bathrooms above light switches. However, these stickers are insufficient to educate students on the many ways of reducing water waste and usage. These stickers also provide very little reasoning as to why reducing water usage is important in the conservation of ecological systems. Additional educational resources are available; however, these resources are underutilized and low in effectiveness. Students who are new to residential halls should be provided with more accessible and more in-depth educational resources to help students understand how to reduce water waste and why. Understanding the environmental impacts of water usage is an important step in increasing student involvement with sustainable habit development and participation. By providing informational fliers or pamphlets with more detailed information could greatly improve student involvement.
References
Melville-Shreeve, P., Cotterill, S., Newman, A., & Butler, D. (2021). Campus Study of the Impact of Ultra-Low Flush Toilets on Sewerage Networks and Water Usage. Water, 13, 419. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/w13040419
Soares, A. E., Silva, J., Nunes, L. G., Ribeiro, M., & Silva, S. (2021). Water conservation potential within higher education institutions: Lessons from a Brazilian university. Urban Water Journal, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/1573062X.2021.2013903
Uelmen, J., Aley, I., Nehls, B., & Hicks, A. (2020). Sustainability Impacts of Installing Low-Flow Toilets in a University Residence Hall. Sustainability, 13, 74–80. https://doi.org/10.1089/sus.2019.0030
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2017). Ground Water [Reports and Assessments]. https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/ground-water
