Water
Submissions Due: March 8th, 2013 at 6:00pm
More details on the
timeline available on the submittal
page
The Water and Landscape Track uses five general themes to structure conference sessions in order to capture the full range of sustainable water issues in the higher education setting. These general themes are:
(1) water education, research and outreach;
(2) water conservation;
(3) water efficiency;
(4) wastewater management; and
(5) institutionalizing water sustainability.
Possible Session Ideas
Water education, research and outreach
Understanding the economic, social and environmental aspects of water sustainability; using your campus as a sustainable water systems living laboratory; the real price of water in California; bringing water sustainability into the classroom; water-conserving technologies and business opportunities of the 21st century; a vision for water sustainability in California.
Water conservation
Updating your campus landscape masterplan to incorporate sustainable water practices; reclaimed water and strategic partnerships between campus and local water districts; non-potable water sources for irrigation and physical plant use; evapotranspiration watering systems and their payback periods.
Water efficiency
Integrating more water efficiency programs into your campus's retro-commissioning projects; effectively overlapping LEED points, sustainability, wastewater requirements and stormwater regulations; campus facilities and central plant water efficiency projects.
Wastewater management
Stormwater management practices that foster sustainability; regulatory update on impact of new stormwater requirements on higher education; use of vegetated swales and roadsides to reduce erosion, increase infiltration, and capture and treat pollutants from parking lots and roadways.
Institutionalizing water sustainability
Making water conservation and efficiency an institutional priority; implementing the draft UC Systemwide sustainable water systems policy; the role of national rankings & "top 10 lists" in advancing sustainable water systems; how policy must play a role in moving campuses toward sustainable water systems.
Additional Ideas that the Water and Landscape Speaker Selection Committee developed can be found here:
Approach
Special consideration will be given to proposals that broaden their water and landscape perspective to include another conference sustainability topic such as climate action planning, energy, green building, procurement, social equity, etc. Examples of this broader, systems-thinking approach could include: climate change's impact on California's water supply; embodied energy in the water we use; integrating more water efficiency programs into your campus's retro-commissioning projects; adding water footprint criteria to campus procurement practices; balancing economic needs with societal and environmental water needs; financial strategies to fund campus sustainable water improvements.
Target Audience
The target audience for the Water and Landscape Track includes those who would benefit from learning about approaches, projects and lessons-learned in raising the visibility of water sustainability; advancing water sustainability policies and practices; and implementing sustainable water systems in the higher education environment. The target audience will include faculty, administrators, water resource managers, facilities managers, grounds managers, sustainability staff and students.