Although 75 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, only 3 percent of that supply is freshwater, and only 1 percent of that is accessible for drinking. Not only is the limited supply of drinking water an issue, water quality is an even more challenging problem for the world. Many developing nations have inadequate or contaminated water supplies, leading to disease and malnutrition. Water conservation is indeed a global effort, and Boston College is taking steps to reduce its consumption. Additionally, there are many simple steps you, as an individual, can take to preserve the world’s water supply.
Boston College Conserves Water
Water conservation is important to guarantee adequate supplies for future needs. In addition, water and sewer costs have risen over 500 percent in the last 10 years and are continuing to rise. Water costs are particularly high in Boston as a result of the Boston Harbor Cleanup (click here to read a history of the cleanup). Boston College has taken a number of measures to reduce water consumption on campus.
Flowing Low
Low flow toilets and shower heads as well as faucet aerators have been installed in a number of the dorms, and will be used in new student living areas being created through renovation and expansion projects in Upper Campus and Newton Campus residence halls.
Ground Efforts
Boston College uses underground sprinkler systems across campus to provide for efficient irrigation. The school is also hoping to use more native grown plants, which would reduce the amount of water necessary for landscaping. For more details on grounds efforts at Boston College, please see our Nature Page.
Dining Efforts
Boston College Dining Services has made a number of efforts to ensure water quality and conservation. Dining Services continually researches energy and water efficient technologies when replacing foodservice equipment and purchase Energy Star or equivalent rated replacement equipment. Recently, two dish machines were replaced, cutting water consumption by 50 percent. Dish machines are run during peak hours only, to conserve utilities and cleaning products.
Specifically, the newly installed Hobart FT900S Flight-Type Dishwashers designed to cut water and energy usage, yet provide effective cleaning and sanitizing that meet NSF International requirements. This is achieved through a carefully balanced ratio of water flow to pressure. At 292 gallons per minute (GPM), the machine offers excellent wetting and flooding over ware. Insulated doors also reduce heat loss. The unit’s 1.9gpm/114 gallons per hour rinse flow rate (the lowest in the industry on a standard height machine) saves both water and the energy to heat it. This results in total annual cost savings of over $11,000 per machine.
Laundry
LaundryView.com is the website that makes doing laundry almost as easy as when mom used to do it for you (oh those good old days). It’s an Internet application that allows you to monitor the status of washers and dryers in connected laundry rooms through a Web browser. LaundryView's mission is to help you save time by providing information about the current state of laundry room equipment wherever you have access to a browser or e-mail messages. Not only does LaundryView help you when removing stubborn stains, it also helps reduce your impact on the environment. Mac-Gray has set a goal of saving its customers 500 million gallons of water each year. New high-efficiency, front-load washers installed in August 2006 use 8.8 gallons less water per load, on average. LaundryView measures these savings on their website, which shows that Boston College has saved over 3 million gallons of water in less than 2 years. Visit LaundryView’s website to get an up-to-the-minute report on how much water is being saved in your dorm and around campus. See our Energy Page to see how these high-efficiency washers help save energy when it’s time to dry your clothes.
Learn more about LaundryView.
Boston's Water Supply
Boston is fortunate enough to have one of the freshest and best tasting water supplies in the world. The Massachusetts Water & Reservoir Authority (MWRA) supplies and regulates the supply of water to Boston, including Boston College’s campus. MWRA's water comes from the Quabbin Reservoir, about 65 miles west of Boston, and the Wachusett Reservoir, about 35 miles west of Boston. The two reservoirs combined supplied an average of 220 million gallons per day to consumers in 2004. The Quabbin alone can hold a supply of 4-year supply of water.
Water taken from these reservoirs is filtered and tested over and over again to ensure quality in health, safety and taste. This process is similar to the steps taken by some bottled water companies, yet costs much less, is better for the environment, healthier and even more delicious! But you don’t have to take our word for how beneficial the Boston public water supply is. Follow the links below to see what the MWRA is doing to ensure water quality and view recent water quality reports.
MWRA Home Page
Annual Drinking Water Test Reports
How the Water System Works
Water Quality Monthly Report
Ever go for a walk or jog around “the reservoir”? That little body of water used to be part of Boston’s water supply. Learn More about the Chestnut Hill Reservoir’s history.
Bottled Water
In recent years, bottled water consumption has increased rapidly, leading to vast amounts of waste and increased oil consumption. The plastic used to make bottles is derived from crude oil, and transporting the heavy cargo to the market demands large amounts of fuel. These bottles often end up in landfills, increasing global waste.
In light of this, Boston College students have promoted awareness for recycling and use of local water supplies. Tap water in the Boston area is clean, refreshing, and at $0.02 a gallon, much less costly than its bottled water counterpart at about $1.25 for half a liter. As it is now, most bottled water comes from natural sources or the same public water supply that comes from the tap.
Students at Boston College have also joined in the campaign against bottled water. EcoPledge recently hosted Harvest Fest to increase campus awareness of environmental issues, and had a table dedicated to water conservation and the use of tap water as an alternative to bottled water. Join student efforts by Thinking Outside the Bottle.
Through The Heights, Boston College’s student newspaper, students are encouraging others to kick the bottle in favor of the tap:
Love That Dirty Water
The Battle of Bottled Water
Health & Science: Bottled Water Provides few Benefits Compared to Tap
Other noteworthy reporting agencies and institutions are supporting a reduction in bottled water consumption and promoting the benefits of tap water.
MSNBC: Are Plastic Bottles Safe? (video)
National Geographic: Bottled Water isn’t Healthier than Tap, Report Reveals
FDA: Bottled Water: Better than Tap?
Reader's Digest: Bottled Water vs. Tap Water
The Economist: Bottled Water and Snake Water
ABC News: Ditching Bottled Water to go Green
MSNBC: Is Your Bottled Water coming from a Faucet?
National Resource Defense Council: Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype
Lighterfootsteps.com: Five Reasons not to Drink Bottled Water
The New York Times: For Fuji Water, a Big List of Green Goals
Conserving Water
There are many simple steps you can do to reduce your water consumption: don’t take marathon showers, fill the sink to wash dishes instead of running water, and fix leaky faucets. For more simple conservation tips, visit the MWRA’s website.
For other environmentally friendly tips and tricks, look into our What You Can Do Page.
Have a leaky faucet? File a work order now to start conserving water.