Water : Overview

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Overview

Annually MIT consumes hundreds of millions of gallons of water, but it was only until the 1990's that water conservation programs began to be implemented. As the MIT campus evolved over the past century, each new building that was added would have its impact assessed and approved. Individually most buildings do not appear grossly inefficient, but when these minor inefficiencies are aggregated over the entire campus they translate into millions of gallons of wasted water. It was not until the 1990's that MIT began its current battery ofwater conservation programs.

MIT's water conservation group has two aims, the first of which is to track down and quantify water usage. The second aim of the group is to implement a series of programs that will first target inefficiencies with immediate short-term gains, and then to implement programs with long term benefits. One example of a program with immediate short-term gains is the installation of low flow devices in all institute bathrooms. An example of long-term project would involve renovating the plumbing in older buildings. Overall the water conservation group has implemented programs that have saved over 70,000,000 gal./year.

General MIT Water Statistics

• In 1999 MIT consumed over 450,000,000 gallons or 1,700,000,000 liters of water.
• A breakdown of water consumption for 1999 by category is provided in below.

  Category of Water Use	Volume Used in 1999
  Laboratories	249x106 gallons	944x106 liters
  Central Utility Plant	89x106 gallons	337x106 liters
  Housing	55x106 gallons	208x106 liters
  Academic Bathrooms	40x106 gallons	152x106 liters
  Dining	10x106 gallons	38x106 liters
  East Campus Plant	7x106 gallons	27x106 liters

• MIT purchases its water from the Cambridge Water Department. The water is treated at Fresh Pond Water Plant, right here in Cambridge. Water is subdivided into 5 zones in which it is priced and sold.
• Water pricing rates are progressive: the higher the consumption the more charged per unit sold. MIT generally pays between $2.00 and $4.00 per ccf (100 ft.^3), which is approx. equivalent to 748 gallons or 2835 liters. Not only must MIT buy its water, but must also pay for its disposal. Sewer rates, which are also progressive, generally run between $4.00 and $6.50 per ccf.

Meter Information

Meters are about 98% accurate and are read 4 times per year. The institute does not change these meters, because even if they deteriorate, the rate becomes less, which is financially beneficial to us. The City of Cambridge is responsible for maintenance of the meters.

Sources

Most of the data obtained for this report comes from data given by Patricia Magner, from utililities, and interviews with Raul Varela, head of water conservation at MIT. Data from Patricia Magnur came in the form of excel spreadsheets, and paper copies of water bills from the Institute.