Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) Water Audit Webinar – Oct. 21 at 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. (web only)

“Water Use and Conservation on Illinois College Campuses: The Ripple Effect”

The Illinois Green Economy Network (IGEN) and the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) are partnering to train college faculty and staff to conduct water audits on their campuses, increasing knowledge about water on college campuses, and furthering ISTC’s goal of reducing water consumption in Illinois by One Billion Gallons. To do so, IGEN and ISTC will implement a three-phase program. In the first phase of the program, IGEN will cohost a webinar with ISTC to educate interested colleges on the basics of water audits. The webinar will cover the following information:

• Details of what a comprehensive water audit encompasses: the built environment, the campus landscaping, and the local topography/watershed;
• Where to find specific information on water use on a college campus: what bills, what departments have information, what is metered, etc.;
• Potential benefits of water audits: how to save money, water, and energy, and the environmental impacts; and
• Overview of the next phases of the program and how to participate.

Speakers will be: Megan Chery, Manager of Alliance for Water Efficiency; Aaron Dunbaugh, Director of Sustainability at Loyola University Chicago; and Michelle Maddaus, Founder and Civil Engineer with Maddaus Waste Management.

Please register to attend the webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/154690976. For additional information visit http://www.igencc.org/node/1115.

In the second phase of the program, IGEN and ISTC will arrange regional training sessions at several Illinois community colleges to train stakeholders on how to conduct a comprehensive water audit on campus. In the third phase of the program, colleges will conduct water audits on their campuses and make recommendations that will reduce water consumption and apply for grants to implement the projects.

ISTC is a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.