The University Housing and Residence Hall Water Conservation Task Force, composed of students, faculty, and housing and facilities staff, has developed several plans to fight the drought, including handing out informational fliers on campus and posting water shortage facts on campus computer desktops.
The task force, which has established a goal of reducing University water usage by 25 percent, set Oct. 23 as the kickoff day for "Water Wars," a water-conserving competition between residence hall communities.
Monetary prizes will be awarded to the top three water-conserving communities, as well as any community reaching a certain percentage drop in water usage. Prize money will come from UNC's Division of Facilities Services. "Part of the money will come from the money that the University saves from its (water) bill," said Rick Bradley, associate director of housing.
To cut back on water use, 300 water-free urinals were ordered and are expected to arrive Oct. 11. They will be installed in high-use areas like Fetzer Gym and the Student Union. Also on the way are 5,000 shower curtains bearing the water conservation effort logo "Every Drop Counts." The curtains are expected to arrive next week and will be distributed by housekeeping.
The Orange Water and Sewer Authority, the primary water supplier for the University, predicts that, at the current rate of usage, its supply will be consumed within 146 days if there is no rainfall.
Together, the University and UNC Hospitals account for 30 percent of OWASA's total water consumption.
Odum Village Community Director Santina Pitcher said the shortage is a long-term problem that not even hurricane-sized rainfall would immediately solve. "This will be going on for a while," she said. "It won't just disappear when winter or the rain comes back."
Jordan said the committee has sent notification of the water shortage to the University's numerous academic departments, but members of the committee expressed concern about whether the notifications had trickled down from department heads to all faculty and staff.
As an example, Jordan cited a Chemistry 21 laboratory experiment that required about 300 students to leave faucets running for almost three hours.
