The Water and Stormwater SWATeam recommendation to install a real-time water meter on the greywater pipes in the Business Instructional Facility has been approved by F&S leadership.  This project will proceed with funding from the Student Sustainability Committee and F&S Utilities & Energy Services.

Eliana Brown with the Water Resources Center and Morgan Johnston with F&S Sustainability provided a two hour tour on July 13, 2017 to six Illinois high school students through the NRES Research Apprenticeship program. Sites visited include the BIF green roof, the Ikenberry Commons permeable pavement, the First Street underground stormwater detention basin, the "square pond" (six-story deep hole near Locust and Springfield), the Boneyard Creek, and the stormwater murals in the College of Engineering.

A strategic goal of both the UIUC and the College of Business is to attract and attain the best faculty. In order to do that, it is essential to provide faculty with office space that allows them maximum productivity. The fourth floor of BIF has proven to be excellent space where faculty can work on research. The fourth floor faculty offices are highly sought after by research faculty due to quality of space, location, convenience, and security. As the College expands the fourth floor to include sixteen new offices, there is an opportunity to include a PV solar panel system. The Student Sustainability Committee has agreed to fund $60,000 toward the total initial cost of $157,340 to fully fund all $48,000 of direct construction and equipment cost for a 12.5 kW array as well as $12,000 in general conditions and contingency. Any other costs will be funded through the College of Business. This proposal directly funds: 1) Solar panels and inverters 2) Limited installation costs 3) Some contingency and general conditions.

The Business Instructional Facility (BIF) was designed for future use of greywater, which is either recaptured water or raw (untreated) water. Although the building is fed from the potable water supply, there is separate piping for the restroom facilities and similar greywater-viable systems in the building. Data from about potential use of greywater can be very valuable for campus and others to know how much water can a building use for flushing toilets, comparing to the potable water we actually need, such as drinking water. In spring 2017, members of the Water SWATeam submitted a proposal about implementing a real-time water meter to the Student Sustainability Committee, and it got approved. They are working with Facilities & Services (F&S) to purchase the real-time meter and install it. Then this data will be made available publicly, so the students can use them for research or different sustainability questions. 

Review of pending recommendations: BIF Greywater, Increase Cooling Tower COC, Design Center Greywater Piping. Discussion on possible edits to the SWAT/iWG process. Student members will submit proposal to Student Sustainability Commision for apermanent meter to measure BIF greywater use. The Water SWATeam will meet every other week and will have a joint meeting with the Agriculture, Land Use, Food, and Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam this semester.