2025 California Green Building Awards
Merit in Water
San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) is the first community college in the world to earn certification under the global Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard, which well exceeds traditional efficiency upgrades. The project about adopting a holistic, catchment-based approach that integrates on-campus measures with regional water governance and watershed health. This innovation reframes the role of a higher-education institution, making the campus an active steward of the Santa Ana River watershed, and adding a Water Stewardship Plan as part of District Sustainability Strategy, while integrating related study into the student science curriculum.
Key innovations include real-time sub-metering and leak detection; rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse systems; and drought-tolerant landscaping with smart irrigation controls to reduce outdoor demand. The AWS framework requires attention to five outcomes: good governance, sustainable balance, quality, protection of water-related areas, and WASH (safe drinking water and sanitation). By adopting this structure, SBVC ensured that every project decision advances multiple sustainability objectives. The certification process itself is an innovation in higher education, demonstrating how a public college can validate its performance through third-party international standards and set a replicable model for peer institutions.