USC looks into reducing water usage

Abiding by a new California state mandated water restriction, USC will look to take innovative approaches to further cut down water consumption on campus.

“It is our understanding that revisions to the current Los Angeles Department of Water ordinance are in progress,” said Carol Fern, director of energy services at USC Facility Management Services, in an email to the Daily Trojan. “While we are exploring numerous options for additional water conservation, we need to make sure that they align with new regulations that are expected to be issued soon.”

In the meantime, the university will continue to abide by emergency drought regulations issued in 2010. Over the last few years, the campus’ water consumption has decreased by 14 percent per square foot, Fern said.

“USC is committed to strong environmental stewardship and is actively engaged in water conservation programs,” Fern said. “The USC Water Conservation Committee is working with partners in both the private and public sectors to look at innovative approaches to make meaningful contributions in water conservation that benefit not only USC but the entire extended Los Angeles community.”

Gov. Jerry Brown issued California’s first statewide mandatory water restrictions on April 1. California water districts, in their fourth year of drought, must reduce water consumption by a total of 25 percent.

Los Angeles has a different water-use reduction goal than other areas, as each water district has already conserved disparate amounts of water. These individual conservation goals, according to scpr.org, should be released by June. USC’s part in additional water conservation is still in the works.

Brown also mandated that 50 million square feet of California land will be replaced with drought tolerant landscaping. The Water Conservation Committee is considering converting “non-event” lawns to drought tolerant landscapes. Currently, the lawn at Brian Kennedy Field is being replaced with 53,000 square feet of artificial turf. The committee is also discussing fountain operation and sprinkler use.

Additionally, Brown called for a rebate program to encourage the use of water-efficient appliances.

“FMS currently uses a number of water-efficient technologies, including soil moisture and weather-based irrigation systems and cooling tower conductivity metering to minimize water usage,” Fern said.

Fern suggests that to help the campus save water, resident students should report any leaks, broken irrigation or any concerns about water usage to the Facilities Customer Service Center.

Many students are supportive of any efforts by the university to conserve more water.

“I heard about Stanford shutting down their fountains months ago, and I was thinking that a student group should do something about the drought,” said Michael Lim, a sophomore majoring in economics and cognitive science. “As great as it is to take shorter showers and water your plants less, it’s aggregate water consumption that uses the most.”

Lim also feels that turning off the fountains could send a positive message to potential students about USC’s views on environmentalism.

“I don’t see why turning off fountains would be at all harmful because USC has a reputation to uphold for potential candidates,” Lim said. “Even tour guides could say something like, ‘We’re really environmentally conscious; we shut off all our fountains because USC cares about water.’”

Other students expressed that they would like for the school to encourage more action by the whole community.

“Until I saw one friend post an article about the water shortage, I was relatively unaware,” said Kylie Nicholson, a senior majoring in media arts and practice. “The shortage and its severity seem to be invisible or unrecognized by the majority of USC students. I think USC could and should lead a campus-wide initiative to encourage water conservation.”

As the university continues to find ways to reduce water consumption, people such as Hilda Blanco, director of the USC Center for Sustainable Cities, recommend that everyone make changes to their behaviors, such as purchasing shower timers, to save water.

“It’s not merely good for us to do something that is sustainable — we have a social obligation to reduce our water use as much as possible,” Blanco said.