Residence halls compete in Chapman’s first Ecolympics since 2015

On-campus residence halls competed in the Ecolympics throughout the month of October with a goal of conserving the most water. Photo by EMILY PARIS, photo editor

Last month, on-campus residence halls competed in the school’s first Ecolympics since 2015. Chapman University’s Office of Sustainability organized the event with the help of Residence Life and First-Year Experience to encourage students to conserve water usage. 

The students in both of the winning residence halls, Morlan Hall and Harris Apartments, won $50 gift cards.

Jenny Kaufman, the sustainability manager of the Office of Sustainability, explained to The Panther how they measured water usage to determine the winners of the program. 

“For several weeks before the competition began, we took baseline readings of each residence hall’s water meters to get an idea of how much water each residence hall was normally using on a weekly basis,” Kaufman wrote in an email to The Panther. “Then, during the month of October, we took weekly readings of each (residence) hall’s water meter.” 

After each week, Kaufman said the Office of Sustainability measured the decline or rise of each residence hall’s water use from the average level measured before the contest. They measured the percentage change in the residence halls’ water usage so that their varying sizes would not skew the results. 

The Office of Sustainability brought the Ecolympics back after seven years since they wanted to encourage students to conserve water in a fun way.

The Ecolympics events resulted in the 3% reduction in water usage throughout Chapman’s residence halls. Graphic courtesy of the Office of Sustainability

“We wanted to create a student-centered campaign for our water conservation efforts and thought a friendly competition would be a great way to educate the student body on how to conserve water and create incentive for a large number of people to reduce their water consumption,” Kaufman wrote.

The Office of Sustainability found that during the month of October, residence halls saved a total of 109,964 gallons of water, which is enough to fill 10 backyard swimming pools, irrigate Memorial Lawn for one month or wash 3,665 loads of laundry.

If the Ecolympics had not motivated students to conserve water, then the residence halls would have likely used approximately 3,533,798 gallons of water instead of how much they actually used: 3,423,834 gallons, which is a 3% difference.

An Instagram post from the Office of Sustainability displaying the final results of the total amount of water all the residence halls used each week compared to average weekly water consumption measured before October demonstrate the positive effect of the Ecolympics.

The Office of Sustainability recorded an average weekly water usage that was slightly above 100,000 gallons. The first week was greater than the baseline, totaling between 100,000 and 125,000 gallons, but the second, third and fourth weeks exhibit a decrease from the baseline, all of which were approximately 100,000 gallons or less.

Junior graphic design major Olivia Talevi, a resident advisor (RA) for Morlan, conserved water from her faucet and her shower during the month of October. She thought the Ecolympics was a great way for students to be mindful of their water usage.

The Ecolympics event saved 109,964 gallons of water throughout Chapman’s residence halls. Graphic courtesy of the Office of Sustainability

“Being conscious of how long my showers were was the biggest thing, but also how often I was turning on the sink and leaving it running,” Talevi told The Panther via direct message on Instagram.

Sophomore theatre major Izzy Geldbach, the RA for Harris, limited her water usage by shortening her showers and leaving the faucet off when it was not necessary. She thought the Ecolympics was an effective way to remind students to limit water consumption, especially since California is still in a drought.

“I conserved water through timing my showers and turning off the running water while doing dishes or brushing my teeth, (turning) off unnecessary water use whenever I could,” Geldbach told The Panther via email.

Kaufman is delighted about the impact that the first Ecolympics had on students living in residence halls.

“Ecolympics drove students to make changes such as turning off the tap while brushing their teeth and only washing full loads of laundry in order to help their residence hall conserve the most water,” Kaufman wrote. “By the end of October, we saw a decrease in weekly water use when compared to the ‘baseline’ week between all the residence halls combined, which is a testament to how widespread the impact is when many individuals make seemingly small changes to their water consumption habits.”

Talevi and Geldbach plan to continue implementing water conservation habits into their daily lives that they started during the Ecolympics.

“Having water usage in the back of my mind is already going to be a helpful skill moving forward, and I think I will continue to take quicker showers because it’s an easy thing to do to help conserve water,” Talevi wrote. 

Geldbach also wrote that taking shorter showers was the most effective change.

The Office of Sustainability may not organize the Ecolympics every semester or every year, but they plan on promoting additional ways to advocate for sustainability to the Chapman community.

“We will continue to introduce more sustainability initiatives that involve friendly competition among the student body, as this is a great way to help Chapman reach its sustainability goals (such as energy and water conservation) and educate students on how they can play a role in these initiatives,” Kaufman wrote.

Editor’s note: This story was updated Nov. 22 to include newly-released information about the total water saved during the Ecolympics event.