Water Impacts and Trends
Annual water use and cost since 2000-01.
Sources
Golden State Water Company
Pomona College receives its potable, treated water from Golden State Water Company. This water is used for domestic uses, cleaning, landscaping, and all other water uses on campus. The water Pomona receives from Golden State Water Company is approximately 50% from local sources (including from the two local wells that Pomona owns) and approximately 50% from the State Water Project, which brings water down through the Central Valley.
Pomona College Wells
Pomona's two wells (located at Foothill Boulevard and College Avenue and at the northwest corner of Athern Field, on campus) and all other local sources of water draw from the watershed fed by San Antonio Creek, which runs north from Claremont into the mountains. The College's two wells produce approximately 400 million gallons of water per year.
Rainfall
The Claremont area receives an average of 15 inches of rain per year, which means that the campus intercepts 53.7 million gallons of rainwater per year.
Water Use
| Year | Gallons | Change | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 99-00 | 124,388,322 | +0.6% | Unknown |
| 00-01 | 112,002,078 | -10.0% | $87,694 |
| 01-02 | 108,314,930 | -3.3% | $96,056 |
| 02-03 | 106,827,803 | -1.4% | $103,268 |
| 03-04 | 103,035,927 | -3.6% | $110,630 |
| 04-05 | 84,080,291 | -18.4% | $103,976 |
| 05-06 | 105,205,278 | +25.1% | $106,424 |
| 06-07 | 102,786,826 | -2.3% | $96,732 |
| 07-08 | 81,714,951 | -20.5% | $104,875 |
| 08-09 | 97,579,636 | +19.4% | $119,399 |
| 09-10 | 86,135,938 | -11.7% | $116,232 |
| 10-11 | 87,420,343 | +1.5% | $114,677 |
Stormwater
Almost half of the campus is covered in landscaping and 37 percent of the campus is covered in "hardscape," which includes permeable (e.g. gravel paths) and impermeable (e.g. asphalt) ground coverings. Based on groundcover, the College produces an estimated 28 million gallons of stormwater runoff each year. This stormwater carries a variety of pollutants to the ocean.
Progress toward goals for 2020
The following table includes relevant objectives from the College's Sustainability Action Plan.
| Data point | 08-09 | 09-10 | 10-11 | 2020 Objective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change in 3-year average water use | 11.5% increase | 32.6% increase | 5% annual reduction | |
| Total water use (gallons) | 97,579,636 | 86,135,938 | 87,420,343 | No goal set |
| Use of reclaimed/gray water | No | No | No | Yes |
| Impermeable surfaces (square-feet) | 2,996,263 | 2,996,263 | 2,912,752 | No net increase |
| Use of sustainable stormwater techniques | Increase | Increase | General increase | |
| % of major buildings metered for water | 0 | 0% | 5% | 100% (by May 2011) |
| % of all buildings metered for water | 0% | 0% | 2% | 100% (by May 2014) |