Water What Can you Do?

Conserve Water

Conserve Water: Did you know in the United States we use 400 Billion gallons of water per day. There is a great deal you can do to reduce your water usage. Here are just a few water facts that can help you make water conservation choices throughout the day:

Bath

A full tub is about 36 gallons.

Shower

2-2.5 gallons per minute. Old shower heads use as much as 4 gallons per minute.

Teeth brushing

<1 gallon, especially if water is turned off while brushing. Newer bath faucets use about 1 gallon per minute, whereas older models use over 2 gallons.

Hands/face washing

1 gallon

Face/leg shaving

1 gallon

Dishwasher

20 gallons/load, depending of efficiency of dishwasher

Dishwashing by hand:

4 gallons/minute for old faucets.. Newer kitchen faucets use about 1-2 gallons per minutes.

Clothes washer

25 gallons/load for newer washers. Older models use about 40 gallons per load.

Toilet flush

3 gallons for older models. Most all new toilets use 1.2-1.6 gallons per flush.

Glasses of water drunk

8 oz. per glass

Outdoor watering

2 gallons per minute

USGS Per Capita Water Usage      EPA Water Use

GET ACTIVE:  In addition to the many conservation events hosted by the Office of Sustainability there are a number of ways to get involved. Over the course of the year we partner with a number of campus and community organizations to promote sustainability within our campus community. Additionally we are always eager to work with students, staff, faculty and community partners on sustainability projects around our campus. Some of the water related events we host are:  

Events

Creek Week

To do our part to improve local water quality, UCCS has adopted the Templeton Gap Floodway that is adjacent to east campus as part of Colorado Springs Adopt-A-Waterway program. To be in the program, UCCS has agreed to two volunteer events each year to clean up the waterway. The Office of Sustainability hosts one event each semester. If you would like to join us or if your group would like to host your own clean-up event, please contact the Office of Sustainability at sustain@uccs.edu or 719.255.3089.

Campus Conservation Nationals

Campus Conservation Nationals is a month long conservation challenge that encourages decreased water and energy use. This competition is made up of 175University and Colleges nationwide. As part of our climate strategic plan and as a signatory of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN) provides us with a way to educate students while working to reduce our energy use and carbon emissions. This three week competition uses an initial test week as base data for a comparison across the month of February. As part of this competition we partner with UCCS Residence Life. During this competition Residence Life works hard to put on a number of conservation themed events and the Office of Sustainability provides education and support.