Water Use on Campus and other Earlham Properties


Preamble and statement of commitment
Earlham’s goal is to do “no harm” to the aquifers and watersheds in the Whitewater River Valley. In order to meet this goal, Earlham strives to reduce the volume of water used, reduce output of wastewater, contain stormwater runoff on campus to prevent damage to local streams, and eliminate pollution of downstream surface and groundwater.

Domestic Water
Use of domestic water at Earlham falls into two broad categories:

  • Domestic activities - flushing toilets, washing hands and dishes, showers, cooking, cleaning, drinking water, etc.
  • Other purposes - watering athletic fields, etc.

Domestic water is supplied to the College by Indiana-American Water Company, a wholly owned subsidy of American Water Works. Usage for academic year 2002-2003 was approximately 3.5 million cubic feet (26,181,819 gallons) at a cost of $76,000. It is important to note that sewage costs are based on domestic water use and are not directly related to the actual sewage output. Any reduction in domestic water use will result in a savings on sewage treatment fees.

What Earlham has done and is doing about domestic water usage

  • The College has been installing flow controls and low volume flush toilets on all new construction or renovation since the 1980’s.
  • Maintenance conducts annual visual inspections of College House and residence hall plumbing fixtures.
  • The Grounds department began planting drought-tolerant native plants which do not require watering. The College only waters newly planted trees and athletic fields.
  • There are some inefficient plumbing fixtures still in use in houses, residence halls and academic buildings.
  • The college installed a timed irrigation system for athletic fields so that the fields can be watered at times of the day to minimize water use.

Future institutional challenges for Earlham on domestic water usage

  • Install flow control on all showers and on-off controls at showerheads.
  • Provide continuing education so that students will be aware of the environmental impacts of excessive water use.
  • Continue to install low-volume flush toilets and urinals in place of standard toilets and urinals.
  • Continue a regular inspection and maintenance program for plumbing
  • If feasible, install cisterns to collect clean stormwater runoff for athletic field irrigation.

Sanitary Sewage
Most domestic water eventually goes through sanitary sewers to the Richmond Sanitary District Treatment Plant. Earlham paid the district $47,000 for its services in fiscal year 2002-2003. The sanitary sewer cost is based completely on the amount of water used so actions which reduce domestic water use, as described above, will also reduce financial costs and environmental impacts of sanitary sewage. However, other actions, specific to wastewater, are also desirable even though they may not reduce the cost to Earlham of processing sewage. Currently, grey water (showers, sinks, etc) is mixed with dark water (toilets), yielding more sewage output than might be necessary.

What Earlham has done and is doing about minimizing sewage output
As noted above, as Earlham has implemented programs to reduce domestic water use, Earlham has also reduced the environmental impacts of sanitary sewage. Over the past decade, Earlham has worked with the Richmond Sanitary District to ensure that stormwater drainage does not go into sanitary sewers.

Future institutional challenges for Earlham on sanitary sewage

  • Minimize the number and types and concentration of contaminants in the wastewater stream. (Natural sciences, fine arts, housekeeping, house kitchens, food service and maintenance are the primary sources of such contaminants.)
  • Continually educate students, faculty and staff concerning environmental impacts of substances poured down the drain.
  • If feasible, separate grey water (from showers, hand washing, dish washing, etc) from dark water (from toilets) and divert from the sanitary sewage system.
  • Determine whether the College should make use of composting toilets on Back Campus.

Stormwater
Property owned by Earlham drains into nearby streams and ponds. Stormwater runoff results from precipitation concentrating quickly and moving downstream at destructively high volumes and velocities and carries surface contaminants and eroded soil. The local geology generally consists of 8 to 20 feet of glacial soils on top of relatively impermeable mud, silt, and limestone strata. Grass, farmland and pastures on slopes can erode into the watersheds of streams and of ponds. For the protection and preservation of downstream ecosystems, Earlham should reduce the volume of campus runoff resulting from storm events and enhance the gradual movement of stormwaters from the surface into the groundwater. There is evidence that some stormwater from the Earlham campus has traveled in the past into the sanitary sewer system.

What Earlham has done and is doing about retarding stormwater run-off
The College follows and exceeds federal, state and local requirements for the construction of appropriate stormwater detention ponds for new construction of buildings, parking lots and roadways and has retrofitted some older roadways and parking lots. Over the past decade, Earlham has worked with the Richmond Sanitary District to ensure that stormwater drainage does not go into sanitary sewers.

Future institutional challenges for Earlham on storm water run-off

  • Increase the amount of stormwater detained after falling on impermeable surfaces such as roofs, sidewalks, roadways and parking lots. This will involve the construction of additional detention ponds and/or cisterns, along with collection systems.
  • Continue to work with the City to identify and resolve any introduction of stormwater into the sanitary sewer system.
  • If feasible, construct new parking lots and roadways with permeable pavement technology, enabling stormwater to percolate, with natural filtration, directly into groundwater.
  • Alter chemical treatment (i.e. fertilizers and biocides) of ground surfaces to reduce both the relative risk posed by introduced chemicals and the amount of contaminants available for migration via stormwater.
  • Establish appropriate ground cover landscaping on sloped land to reduce runoff and erosion and to encourage percolation and/or evaporation of stormwater
  • Encourage farmers who lease property from the College to use farming techniques with less environmental impact

Storm Water Education

For more information on Stormwater in the our area, see the City of Richmond's Storm Water Development Plan or Richmond's Storm Water Program website. Or watch these public services announcements provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (click on Indiana first). Or read about Indiana's Storm Water Marking program.

Also, Notre Dame has a fairly comprehensive Storm Water program.