Water Efficiency, Conservation and Reuse for Hokulani Elementary School

Abstract

In Hawaii and around the world, urbanization has led to an increase in water usage around the world. As we begin to face issues such as climate change and sea level rise in Hawaii, the need to conserve water resources becomes increasingly important. Although we live on an island surrounded by water, we still face water issues and must begin to make changes in order to conserve the resources that we have. Over the coming years, Hawaii will face water problems associated with scarcity, pollution, climate change as well sea level rise.

This paper investigates water efficiency, water conservation and water reuse to produce a list of strategies that can be used to help and guide administrators, designers, and architects to choosing the right water reduction strategies for their project. In addition, the paper also provides a set of guidelines that can be applied to educational institutions in Hawaii. These guidelines set water reduction goals and list strategies for reaching these goals. Two case studies are analyzed and used to demonstrate how these water reduction strategies are used by other school in Hawaii.

The design portion of the paper focuses on the redesign of Hokulani Elementary School. The design analyzes water use and implements water reduction strategies such as water efficient fixtures as well as low impact development strategies and water reuse systems. The thesis is a comprehensive review of water reduction strategies that can be applied to school buildings in Hawaii.