NC State Students Take Lead In Water Conservation Challenge

Forget the Wolfpack’s football conquest of the Tarheels and UNC’s recent basketball victory. The stakes are even higher as students from the two schools go at it in a challenge to see who can conserve the most water.

Students from North Carolina State University have a slight edge in the contest that began in November, with a 14 percent reduction to Carolina’s 12 percent. The two schools established an initial baseline for the competition, with NC State using 31 gallons of water per student per day to UNC-Chapel Hill’s 34. Each school has lowered its consumption by four gallons to 27 and 30, respectively.

“We started out with a lower number, so that puts additional pressure on us,” said Bobby Mills, student body president. “But our students have been so enthusiastic about looking for ways to lower water consumption. I commend both schools for their efforts and hope that Carolina students will be able to console themselves with the idea that they’ve worked hard for a good cause.”

The idea for the challenge grew out of concern for the continuing drought. The next measurements in the contest will be announced at the Feb. 20 NC State-UNC basketball game.  The final results will be announced in March at the ACC Tournament.