Conservation Measures at Georgia Tech

Water tanks collect from natural springs for irrigating the football field.

Georgia Tech’s Department of Facilities began taking aggressive conservation measures long before the drought reached crisis proportions. Principles of sustainability and conservation are incorporated into all planning, building and daily operations on campus. For example, although the total square footage of buildings on campus has doubled since 2001, water usage has been maintained at 300-350 million gallons annually. More importantly, Georgia Tech has reduced water use by square foot 23% during the past seven years.

Examples of Georgia Tech’s ongoing conservation efforts are highlighted below:

Utilizing low flow fixtures

Since restrooms account for 45 percent of typical water usage on campus, conservation in this area has received top priority.

• 75% of water closets in on-campus housing are low flow
• 80% of showers in on-campus housing are low flow
• Low flow and hands free faucets are used in many of the restrooms
• Occupancy electronic controlled water closets and faucets are used
• Waterless urinals have been installed in some buildings

Practicing flexible water conservation

• Capturing roof rain water and condensate to use for irrigation
• Utilizing intelligent sprinkler systems
• Installing native plants that are more drought resistant
• Irrigating young trees with irrigation bags
• Shutting down all outdoor water fountains
• Utilizing process cooling instead of domestic water cooling in some labs
• Utilizing water previously being diverted into the sewage system capturing 5,000 gallons a week of nonpotable water for irrigation.
• Georgia Tech's dining halls have gone "trayless" to save water resulting in 3,000 gallons of water saved per day
• Dining halls replaced water-cooled ice compressors with air-cooled models for a savings of more than 300,000 gallons of water a year

Constructing sustainable buildings

Georgia Tech now has the following sustainable buildings on campus. All new construction must meet LEED certification requirements.

• Economic Development Building
• Food Processing Technology
• Ford Environmental Science and Technology
• Global Learning and Conference Center
• Klaus Computing
• Molecular Science Engineering
• Management
• Marcus Nanotechnology
• Whitehead - Student Health Center
• Whittaker BME

Repairing leaks across campus

• Repaired steam condensate lines increasing efficiency 30-80% over the past 5-8 years
• Eliminated six leaking cooling towers
• Identified and repaired water leaks across campus
• Drilled two wells for make-up water in cooling towers