Understanding Water Usage at Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Pierre, Jean-Philippe Anthony; Zhong, Shangjin; Curiel, Alan E.; Lenihan, Ellis K.

Student Work

Understanding Water Usage at Worcester Polytechnic Institute Public

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)’s water usage has increased since 2014. The goal of this project was to assess WPI’s water usage and recommend ways to decrease it. To achieve this, we analyzed WPI’s water usage data, focusing on heavily consuming buildings through interviews and water use estimates. We also sent out surveys about students’ water use. Our study suggested that despite the fact that students generally consider water conservation important, they use a significant amount of water in residential halls. We recommended social and technological changes WPI can implement, and a plan for future water conservation. These changes included influencing students to conserve more water through signs and competitions, replacing fixtures, and installing new meters.

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