Water protection

Direction: Protect water quality and local water ecosystems

While southwestern Ontario is generally blessed with abundant freshwater resources, water conservation efforts are important for protecting the groundwater that supports the local community, especially in light of recent water supply constraints.  

Water usage declined in the early 2020s during the pandemic, but has risen steadily over the past several years, in both absolute terms and by intensity. The campus will conduct additional auditing and metering over the coming year to identify areas of high water use with greater detail, as well as opportunities to improve efficiency.

Indicators

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648,936 m3 total water consumption
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0.81 m3/m2 water use intensity
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15.4 m3/FTE Water consumption intensity per capita

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Academic mission

Operational practice

Campus engagement

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Actions and accomplishments

Photo of Laurel Creek with goose and goslings
Photo of Strauss Lake

Historic actions and accomplishments

2024

  • Replaced outdated and inefficient deionized water system in DWE with a newer reverse-osmosis system

2023

  • Students from CIVE 583 investigated storm water management around the southeastern portion of campus. Then, the students disseminated their findings to PLAN 211 students who were tasked with re-designing these spaces, using planning theory and design programs to improve storm water management in these areas while making them more usable, versatile, and aesthetically appealing.

2022

  • Over 1,500 water-efficient shower heads and 3,500 low-flow faucets were installed

2021

  • A green roof was added above the food court as part of the SLC/PAC expansion project

2020

  • Retrofitted the aquatic lab facility, creating significant reductions in water intensity with a more efficient circulation and filtration system

An accessible version of the data can be downloaded here: Water.xlsx (Excel)

Methodology

Boundary

All campuses. Affiliated and Federated Institutions of Waterloo provide data to include in this report for purposes of transparency, but are separate from the goals and actions of Waterloo.

Methodology

Source data was taken from annual billing for all locations.

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