The results are in for the SUNY New Paltz Slow the Flow water conservation campaign, and they are incredibly encouraging.
During the fourth quarter of 2018 (October – December), the College’s water usage decreased by more than 1.5 million gallons compared to the same period in 2017, which equates to a 9.8 percent drop in overall water consumption.
SUNY New Paltz – Total Campus Water Usage
October – December 2017: 15,374,846 gallons
October – December 2018: 13,868,316 gallons
“Results like these are only possible when everyone on campus pitches in,” said Lisa Mitten, campus sustainability coordinator. “Thank you to students, faculty, staff and everyone else who helped make a difference on this issue.”
Students living in campus residence halls were key to the effort to reduce water usage. On average, New Paltz resident students cut back their water consumption by more than 1.5 gallons per day over the three-month periods in fall 2017 and fall 2018.
Students in Capen Hall ended up achieving the best results. Their 10 percent reduction was enough to earn the victory in the first ever Slow the Flow Save H2O Water Conservation Campaign. Lenape and Ridgeview Halls finished in second and third place, respectively.
Sodexo also played an important role . Hasbrouck Dining Hall feeds thousands of New Paltz students every day during the semester, and uses more water than any other building on campus.
In fall 2018, the staff of Hasbrouck Dining Hall realized an 8 percent decrease in water usage from fall 2017, despite the opening of the new bakery in the building at the beginning of the fall 2018 semester.
Hasbrouck Dining Hall – Average Daily Water Usage
October – December 2017: 16,800 gallons
October – December 2018: 15,500 gallons
The Slow the Flow campaign launched in fall 2018 to help save water in response to the beginning of the Catskill Aqueduct shutdown and repair.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s Upstate Water Supply Resiliency Project includes a three-year (2018-2020) renovation of the Catskill Aqueduct, which runs from the Ashokan Reservoir, in central Ulster County, south to the Kensico Reservoir, in Westchester County, and is the primary water source for the Village of New Paltz.
Visit the Office of Campus Sustainability online to learn more.
