The strategies—which include installing new, low flow showerheads and sink aerators and reducing the amount of landscape irrigation—are designed to curb campus water use by 20 percent by 2020 and help ease the effects of California’s ongoing drought.
According to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor, much of Humboldt County remains in a state of extreme drought, stressing crops, livestock and increasing the need for coordinated water conservation measures.
In January, the Governor of California declared a statewide drought emergency urging residents to cut water use by 20 percent and directing state agencies to take measures to ease the effects on agriculture, communities and fish and wildlife. In February, the California State University Chancellor’s Office asked individual CSU campuses to reduce their water use to comply with the statewide effort.
HSU’s effort consists of both short and long-term strategies that meet both the state’s call and the CSU’s Sustainability Policy, which calls for a permanent 20 percent water reduction by 2020. In the short-term, the campus community will see blue and red stickers on all restroom soap dispensers reminding people to turn off water while they soap up.
The university is also urging students, faculty and staff to be mindful of their daily water use. Examples of reducing routine water usage include watering office plants with drinking water from the previous day, filing a work request for a leaky restroom or revising a lab activity to use less water.
Other short-term strategies include:
- Aerators at sink faucets
- Low flow showerheads in campus buildings such as Kinesiology & Athletics, the Recreation & Wellness Center, Theatre Arts and Forestry
- Flushometers on toilets to reduce the amount of water required for flushing
- Reduced irrigation watering
Long-term strategies include:
- Installing low flow fixtures in toilets and urinals
- Conducting leak detection surveys and repairs on the irrigation and water systems
- Installing additional water metering
For more information on the university’s ongoing water reduction efforts and what you can do to help, contact Silas Biggin at silas.biggin@humboldt.edu (707) 826-5899.