Water Systems at UA: Sources, Usage, and Conservation

1. Water Systems Marilynn Garibay and Tara Taylor

2. Where the UA gets its water: • The University of Arizona uses water from three distinct sources. • We pump water from out own regional aquifer wells • We buy City of Tucson potable water • We buy City of Tucson reclaimed water

3. Main Campus • Source of water is from 3 wells and 5 booster pump stations connected to City of Tucson water system • A new well is scheduled to come on line in June 2003 • Distribution system is made up of 7 miles of pipe and serves 185 buildings.

4. Arizona Health Sciences Campus (AHSC) • Source of water is 2 wells and 2 booster pump stations connected to the City of Tucson • 2 miles of pipe • Serves 40 buildings • UMC Hospital is not a user

5. Water Usage throughout the UAMain Campus and AHSC campus: • There are five main uses of the water system at the UA: • Residential Use • Commercial Use • Industrial Use • Irrigation Use • Academic Building Use

6. Residential Use • There are 20 dormitories on the Main campus. • Water used at the dorms is for drinking, personal hygiene, and a little irrigation around them. • Water use for this community is greater during fall and spring semesters

7. Commercial Use • This use includes the Student Union, bookstores and intercollegiate athletics. • Several facilities were not measured in 2002 • Student Recreation center was one of them, and it is served by the City of Tucson water system • Uses include drinking, cooking, restrooms, dishwashing, cleaning and swimming pools

8. Industrial Use • One of the largest district chilled water loops in the world • Used for cooling buildings, equipment and some refrigeration for cold rooms • 13 cooling towers and 3 cooling plants are the major consumers of this water • One reclaimed and the rest potable

9. Irrigation Use • 50-55% of the irrigation on campus is supplied by reclaimed water • Most turf areas are baseball and softball fields and the football practice field • NO cross connections exist with the potable system • Irrigation valve box colors are purple

10. Academic Building Use • 163 academic buildings on the main campus and 40 on the AHSC campus have connections to potable water systems • Uses: classrooms, research and teaching laboratories, restrooms, offices and water features, and labs

11. Campus Wells • 7 wells • Aggie, Architecture, CRB, Huachuca, Martin St., North and South • Vary in depth from 480 ft to 700 ft deep • Produce from valley fill aquifers • Disinfections takes place at each well • Produce 90-300 gpm of water • Have pressure tanks and sand separators • New well will be about 700 ft deep and produce 400 gpm • Idled wells because of low production are Martin St. and Aggie

12. City of Tucson Water Backup System • The main campus potable water system is backed up by 5 connections. • On the AHSC campus, two connections to city water back up the two wells

13. Reclaimed Water System • Fed by two 12 inch mains that cross Campbell and just south of University • They both feed a meter station near the east end of Hillebrand Pool • The backbone main runs down the mall and around the north side of Old Main. Serves the Main Campus plant, baseball field, softball field, and practice football field

14. De-ionized Water System • 13 buildings are supplied with de-ionized (DI) water for use in cleaning lab-ware and research • It is supplied by the Main Campus plant’s reverse osmosis unit

15. City of Tucson Water Quality

16. Reclaimed Water Quality

17. Remember! • Water is a precious commodity! • Don’t waste it!