Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Sonoma State Combats Water Loss

  • 11/01/13
Sonoma State University

Moen Commercial fixtures helped Sonoma State University to combat the significant water loss it had been experiencing due to worn-out shower heads and valves.

Original plumbing hardware in the locker and shower rooms at Sonoma State University’s (SSU) Physical Education Building needed replacement, and the SSU Facilities Management Plumbing Shop was looking for a cost-effective yet high-quality retrofit. Kevin Davis, SSU lead plumber, proposed researching and developing a time and materials cost savings plan for the showers. Davis turned to Moen Commercial to discuss the proposed retrofit and ultimately chose Moen vandal-resistant showerheads.

The campus added 32 Moen Commercial single-handle pressure-balancing shower valves along with 18 Commercial M-Dura® chrome showerheads in the center’s men’s and women’s locker rooms.

In addition, on an as-needed basis, the university is swapping out worn, leaking plastic shower-valve cartridges with more than 1,000 heavy-duty brass Moen 1222 HD Single-Handle Posi-Temp® replacement cartridges across all of the student housing complexes on campus.

Before switching to the Moen showerheads and valves, the campus was experiencing significant water loss due to leaks from the 40-year-old column showers with their inefficient shower heads and wornout valves. The retrofit proposed by Davis provided an immediate water-savings solution and improved performance.

Water flows through the new showerheads in an engineered-polymer channel for instant, consistent flow, and the spray pattern is designed to maximize force while saving water. The Moen valves were fitted with lever handles that perfectly match the brushed stainless-steel enclosure. In addition to the shower retrofits, Moen’s heavy-duty brass cartridges are being added as needed throughout the campus to replace leaking plastic cartridges.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management November 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Year-Round Schools Require Year-Round Indoor Air Quality Planning

    While many schools are out for the summer, year-round schools follow a more “balanced” schedule with shorter, more frequent breaks spaced throughout the school year. Even though this offers educational benefits, these facilities have less downtime for building maintenance. This can become an issue when facilities managers overlook the importance of routine HVAC maintenance and air duct cleaning services.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • Auburn University Debuts $224M STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., recently opened its new $224-million STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex, the largest research construction project in the university’s history, according to university news. The facility measures more than 265,000 square feet and brings six departments from the College of Agriculture and College of Sciences and Mathematics together under one roof.

  • ZeroEyes, Academic Innovators Partner to Provide Safety Solutions

    ZeroEyes, which produces a multi-analytics weapons detection and threat intelligence platform, recently announced a partnership with Academic Innovators, according to a news release.