Set on the southern slope of one of the highest points in the city, the Catholic University of America has a beautiful natural landscape graced with extraordinary views, rolling topography, and pastoral plantings. Across campus, our landscape and grounds are maintained with a focus on caring for our natural spaces and implementing best practices to reduce potable water use and stormwater runoff.
How do we achieve our water reduction goal? Do your part! If every student living on campus shortened their shower by two minutes every day, we would be 7% closer to reaching our goal! Read our blog post on how you can help conserve water on campus.
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Campus Trees
Catholic University is home to nearly 4,500 trees! Click here to check out our TreeKeeper application to identify trees across campus. See an interesting tree? Open TreeKeeper to learn about it! TreeKeeper also shows the air quality, energy, water, and greenhouse gas benefits of each tree on campus. All together, our campus trees save over 10 million gallons of water and sequester over 1.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide every year!
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Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater harvesting systems collect and store rainwater for future non-potable use. Catholic University has two rainwater harvesting systems. The first is a 15,000-gallon stormwater harvesting cistern and filtration system that collects rainwater for use in the cooling towers at the Power Plant. A second cistern collects rainwater for non-potable uses in Maloney Hall. Using captured rainwater conserves over 270,000 gallons of water per year! -
Stormwater Management
Flash flooding and waterway quality are major concerns in Washington, DC. To manage stormwater on campus, the University has more than 120 stormwater management devices designed to reduce the volume of water that reaches the sewer system as well as the number of pollutants carried in it. The devices range from green roofs to rain gardens, permeable pavement, and underground filters. -
Landscaping
Over the last decade, the University has moved away from permanent irrigation for capital improvements, such as at Garvey Hall, Maloney Hall, Father O’Connell Hall, the Welcome Plaza, and Opus Hall. Catholic also focuses on water-efficient landscaping practices by selecting native and adaptive plants. In addition, in 2021 the University installed a new irrigation control system with an improved rainwater sensor to reduce the need for constant irrigation during rain events. -
Water-Efficient Plumbing Fixtures
Catholic University focuses on water efficiency by installing water-efficient plumbing fixtures such as aerators, flushometers, and low-flow showerheads. Catholic University regularly upgrades buildings to more efficient fixtures when undergoing renovations.