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University of Texas at Austin Expands Water Conservation Efforts Amid Drought

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The University of Texas at Austin is expanding its water conservation efforts as drought conditions continue to worsen, the school's official newspaper The Daily Texan reported.

While state legislators ponder over water conservation policies, the University has made several efforts to conserve water, including adopting water-saving technology that reduced water usage by 66 percent in 2013, Markus Hogue, the university's irrigation and water conservation coordinator, told The Daily Texan.

The drought is projected to intensify for the majority of the state for the next three months.

"Luckily for [the University of Texas], they saw it," Hogue said. "They saw the writing on the wall, and they started preparing for it. The timing couldn't have been better. We put [the system] in right when we needed it the most."

The University will install new water-saving features that are compatible with existing systems in dormitories. In some bathrooms, shower and light timers, low-flow toilets, urinals, showerheads and faucets were installed.

Hunter Mangrum, an environmental specialist at the University, told The Daily Texan the water-saving techniques the University can implement in older buildings may be limited.

"We still have major hurdles, and a lot of times that has to do with how buildings are built and everything that we try to pack into a building," Mangrum said. "That's not just a UT problem. That's a global problem."

The school is also using water-saving irrigation system detects breaks and automatically turns the system off, saving 10 million gallons of water alone in 2012, Hogue said. A system program uses live weather data, including factors such as sunlight and humidity, to determine how much water is needed.

Hogue said the University also saved water by changing the outdoor landscape surrounding the buildings. According to Hogue, the University's landscaping master plan will allow the University to include more drought-resistant plants.

He is currently working on a project that will have real-time data of the water usage of every building and area on campus.

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