Published: Jun 28, 2013 | 21:09 PM

IRWD Partners with UCI for Student ‘Water Battle’

Beginning this week, students in the Middle Earth housing community at University of California, Irvine will compete against each other in an effort to reduce water consumption and promote environmental sustainability.

“Ivine Ranch Water District prides itself in being a leader in water use efficiency in California and is committed to evaluating new technologies and strategies,” said IRWD Assistant Director of Water Policy, Fiona Sanchez. “With the Water Battle, we’re excited to see how real-time information about water use and the spirit of competition can produce long-term water savings and where better to do this than at one of the leading universities in the state?”

For four weeks, indoor water consumption for each of the eighteen dormitories will be tracked, including toilet flushing, shower usage and faucets. Throughout the battle, students can check each dormitory’s standing in real-time through the Aquacue dashboard which reports how much water each dormitory has used up to that point. A base rate of water consumption was recorded during the first two weeks of the school session to serve as the water savings benchmark.

This battle of epic proportions is the result of a partnership between IRWD and UCI. IRWD supplied UCI Student Housing with Aquacue’s Barnacles, which are small electronic devices that attach onto water meters and transmit real-time water use data via a cellular network to a cloud-based software program that is accessible from the internet. 

The contest is fitting for a campus that is committed to sustainability and has made a priority to implement environmentally-friendly upgrades throughout campus.

In keeping with the theme of environmental sustainability, UCI has focused its outreach efforts through a paperless campaign, employing the use of social media, email blasts and word of mouth to increase awareness. Students are encouraged to utilize standard, such as taking shorter showers, while also developing and sharing  creative methods to reduce water consumption.

In addition to bragging rights and a celebratory feast, the UCI Department of Student Housing will provide the winning dormitory with a $1,000 donation to the charity of their choice, made in their honor.  

Please visit our website for more conservation information.