Jie Li, B.S.
Jessica Schiff, B.A.
Sarah Brengman
Ken Gilbertston, PhD
EnEd 5325 Environmental Issues Investigation
Overview
 Introduction
 Problem ID and Definition
 Impact Evaluation Criteria
 Global Data
 Local Data
 Impacts
 Recommendations
 Conclusion
Introduction
 Sports and Health Center (SpHC) built in 1953
 46,000 ft²
 6:30 a.m.-midnight(until 10 p.m. in summer months)
 Six-lane swimming pool
 Therapy pools
 Multiple locker rooms
 Full-sized ice rink
 Various restroom facilities and drinking fountains
 Draws water from City of Duluth water supply
Problem ID and Definition
Potential overuse of domestic water consumption in
SpHC. Can this amount be reduced? If so, how and
how much? If not, why not?
Domestic water: Treated water that comes in contact with
humans to support everyday life
Water consumption: Any and all domestic water used in
SpHC (may or may not be returned to the Earth’s water
cycle)
To waste water: To use, consume, spend, or expend water
thoughtlessly, carelessly, or purposefully (The American Heritage
Dictionary, 2009)
Background to Problem
Figure 1: Distribution of Earth's Water (USGS, 2009).
 2025: The anticipated year for world-wide water shortages
(waterfootprint.org)
 Lake Superior = 20% of world’s fresh surface water
Impact Evaluation Criteria
“Water efficiency is the long-term ethic of saving water
resources through the employment of water-saving
technologies and activities” (EPA)
Determine baseline water requirements needed for
SpHC to function
Determine if more than this baseline amount of water is
being used
Global Data
 Glocal: Thinking globally and acting locally
 Worldwide water uses: Agricultural, Industrial, Domestic
Global
USA
SpHC
Figure 4: Average per capita domestic consumption from different
nations (WBCSD, 2009).
Global Impacts
 Case Study: Aral Sea
 Environmental Impacts
 Economic Impacts
 Social Impacts
The Aral Sea
An example of a shrinking lake:
 Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan
 26,254 mi2
 Now 10% of original size
 2,625 mi2
 Impacts:
 Economic-fishing industry, shift in job market
 Social-shift in job market, sources/uses of water
 Environmental-salinity changes, loss of natural body of
water
Local Data and Research
Areas researched:
Methods:
 City of Duluth water system
 Interviews
 UMD and SpHC water
 Tours
system
 Main water consuming areas
in SpHC
 Water fixtures and facilities
 Costs associated with water
consumption
 Photography
 Internet Research
Minnesota Water Use
 Minnesota per capita water usage: 68 gallons
 National per capita water usage: 98 gallons
Figure 8: Minnesota Water Use by Category, 2005 (Fairbairn, 2010)
NOTE: The light pink portion represents Thermoelectricity.
Domestic Water Schematic
 Two water sources
 8” and 10” (two pipes coming from same supply)

Not metered individually for SpHC
 Back-up not metered by City of Duluth
 One waste water pipe: 15”
Water Consumption in SpHC
 Awareness of possible areas in SpHC that are or could
be major water users (locker rooms, rest rooms, pool,
ice rink, etc.)
 Water meter data for SpHC (hot, cold, steam)
 Water flow for each water fixture (shower heads,
faucets, toilets)
 Are there ways to improve their efficiency?
Water Consumption in SpHC
Amount of water used in primary water-consuming areas of SpHC
Showers
2.0 or 2.5 gpm depending on brand
Faucet
0.5 gpm
Toilets
1.6 gallons per flush
Urinals
1 gallon per flush
Pool
136,000 gallons to fill it, minimal loss and add-in based on
chemical mixing, evaporation, and leakage
Cooling Tower
See SpHC Cooling Tower Water Use by Month and
SpHC Cooling Tower Annual Water Use
Ice rink
200‘ x 100' sheet of 1” thick ice is 20,000 gallons
Average of 80-100 gallons for resurfacing
NOTE: Complete data is not available for every area of SpHC that uses water. This table
represents data that is currently available.
Table 1: Water Usage in SpHC. (Sawyer, 2010), (Russel- Ausley, 2002) & (Stevens, 2010).
Ice Rink and Cooling Tower
SpHC Cooling Tower Water Use by Month
100000
Gallons
80000
60000
2007
40000
2008
20000
2009
0
1
SpHC Cooling Tower Annual Water Use
400000
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12
Month
Figure 10: SpHC Cooling Tower Water Use by Month (Sawyer, 2010).
390000
Gallons
380000
370000
360000
350000
340000
330000
Year
2007
358050
2008
396440
2009
388420
Figure 11: SpHC Cooling Tower Annual Water Use (Sawyer, 2010).
Pool
 136,000 gallons of water (3 Room 9’s)
 Drained and refilled usually twice/year
 hot and cold water
 Water is filtered and returned to the pool
 Some domestic water is added in the process
 Surge Tank
 Catches water overflow and drained water for
recirculation
 Filter Tank
 Filters water from surge tank before it is pumped back
into the pool
Pool Ventilation
 New Pool Pack Unit installed March 2010
 Pulls air out of the natatorium
 Dehumidifies and adds 10% fresh air
 Goal: Regulate temperature and humidity to control
evaporation
W = (69+0.35 v)(pw-pa)/Y
W = evaporation rate, lb/h·ft2 (pounds per hour per square foot)
v = air velocity at water surface, ft/min
pw = saturation vapor pressure at water temp, in Hg (inches of Mercury)
pa = saturation vapor pressure at air dew point, in Hg, also partial pressure of water in pool atmosphere
Y = latent heat at pool temperature, Btu/lb (British thermal unit per pound)
Figure 12: Rates of Evaporation from Swimming Pools in Active Use
Impacts
 Environmental
 Effect caused by human activity or natural phenomenon on an
environment that is related to or dependent upon water.
 Economic
 Any increase or decrease in the productive potential of the
economy.
 Social
 The consequences to human population of any public or private
actions related to water that alter the ways in which people live,
work, play, relate to one another, organize to meet their needs and
generally cope as members of society.
Environmental Impacts
 Wildlife and plant species
 Decrease in water quality
 Increase in temperature
 Change in Oxygen levels
 Increase in concentration of pollutants
 Disturbance of contaminated sediments
Economic Impacts
 Financial expenditures vs. savings
 Water costs start at $2.56/100ft³ up to 4,000ft³
 UMD utility bill: Water = 6% of total cost
 $288,000-$390,000 annually
 Community/Global
Domino Effect:
 Shipping Industry
 1” water level drop = 250
tons of coal left on dock
when a thousand-footer
weighs anchor
Figure 14: 2009 UMD Utility Bill Percentages (Sawyer, 2010)
Social Impacts
 U.S. is using water more efficiently, but population
growth is negating those gains in efficiency
 Abundance of fresh lake water in Duluth
 Leads to less awareness of responsible water consumption
 UMD’s reputation as an environmentally conscious
campus
Recommendations
 Environmental
 Economic
 Social
 Other
NOTE: The research team does not propose that areas of SpHC stop using
water. Instead, the research team aims to make recommendations for
responsibly using water while ensuring these areas continue to serve their
purposes.
Environmental Recommendations
 Use as little as possible
 Return water that can be reused
 Maintain water quality
 Use fewer chemicals
 Use environmentally-friendly chemicals
Economic Recommendations
 Install water on domestic cold water pipe
 6” pipe with an average cost of ~$5,000
 Would complement current meter on domestic hot water
 Install low-flow water fixtures in any remaining areas of
SpHC
Social Recommendations
 Raise awareness of responsible water consumption
 “Just One Minute” campaign
Other Recommendations
 Pool
 Ice rink
 Install a 3” water meter to
 Improve water quality
measure domestic water
used for surfacing the
use in only the pool area
ice rink
 Leads to a better sheet of
 Enlarge the surge tank

Would decrease amount of
new domestic water added
ice and less required
resurfacing
http://www.d.umn.edu/recreation/%28RSOP%20Web%29/Facilities/index.html#ice
Future Research
 Water Boilers
 Assess energy efficiency
 Potential correlation to water consumption
 Water Fixtures
 Collect number of each type of fixture to assess and
compare overall efficiency
Conclusion
 Water-consuming areas of SpHC need to continue
functioning
 Revenue
 Unknown total domestic water consumption
 Some calculations made
 Meters are needed
 Water use can be reduced in certain areas
 Surge tank for pool
 Locker rooms -- low flow fixtures
 Raise awareness
Thank You!