Across a university campus, no two buildings are exactly alike, and the environment in which they operate varies greatly. Dormitories, laboratories, cafeterias, gymnasiums, research facilities; each one runs on its own schedule, serves different needs, and often operates on a separate water treatment and, likely, wastewater treatment program. Over time, this patchwork approach creates a bigger problem: uncoordinated vendors and inconsistent programs that make it harder to manage water quality, system performance, and regulatory compliance.

As part of EAI’s “The Water Industry is All Industry” campaign, this article examines how fragmented university water treatment strategies are impacting higher education institutions across the country. As campuses continue to grow in complexity, many still rely on building-specific water treatment contracts with different vendors, each applying their own chemical formulations, treatment methods, and methodologies. However, this can result in duplication of unnecessary chemical spend, and inconsistent system protection that puts students, faculty, and infrastructure at risk.

With today’s rising demand for sustainable operations, tighter environmental regulations, and growing concerns about water quality, local leaders and higher education institutions are rethinking how their campus water systems are managed.

How Fragmented Vendors Complicate University Water Treatment Programs

It’s not unusual for a college or state university to have multiple water treatment vendors across its campus. One provider may handle cooling towers in the main mechanical plant. Another manages boiler water in a performance arts building. A third treats potable water for dormitories, while a fourth oversees wastewater effluent for science labs. Each vendor operates independently, using different chemicals, protocols, and data systems.

At face value, this “divide and conquer” approach may appear flexible. But when programs don’t align, it creates significant risk:

• Chemical incompatibility: One department might use phosphate-based corrosion control while another uses organophosphonates. These combinations can result in destabilizing chemical reactions that reduce effectiveness and harm system components.
• Inconsistent testing and reporting: Uncoordinated vendors mean redundant testing in some areas and critical blind spots in others. This is especially problematic in buildings with fluctuating occupancy, like lecture halls during academic breaks.
• Data silos: When each vendor uses a different reporting system, university facilities teams cannot evaluate performance or determine risk campus-wide.
• Compliance uncertainty: Disconnected vendors often use different documentation standards, creating gaps in regulatory compliance for potable water, disinfection, and wastewater management.
• Lack of knowledge sharing: Without unified oversight, campus departments miss opportunities to share best practices or adapt proven water management strategies across buildings.

Even minor inconsistencies across chemical programs can snowball into system-wide inefficiencies. If a pH imbalance in one cooling tower causes corrosion, it may not show up until downstream components (like a heat exchanger failing in an entirely different building). When systems don’t complement each other, problems don’t just stay localized. They spread.

The Cost of Misalignment: Risks to Public Health, Compliance, and Campus Goals

When chemical programs are fragmented and oversight is decentralized, the cost becomes strategic. Uncoordinated water treatment across a university campus compromises more than system performance; it threatens public health, institutional reputation, administration and long-term sustainability goals.

Take HVAC efficiency, for example. Cooling towers and boilers account for nearly 60% of a campus’s total water consumption, yet they’re also among the most prone to chemical incompatibility. If one building receives effective corrosion and scale control but another does not, the resulting stress on the system can lead to energy waste, and equipment failures that impact heating and cooling campus-wide.

Then there’s regulatory compliance when campuses operate their own potable water systems, perform wastewater treatment on-site, or support healthcare-affiliated programs. Medical schools, bioscience labs, and research facilities that use autoclaves or steam sterilizers may fall under guidance like ANSI/AAMI ST-108, which sets water quality expectations for sterilization equipment. Campuses must also adhere to EPA regulations, state-issued permits, and sustainability mandates tied to water use and discharge. When college departments and their students operate with different vendors and inconsistent documentation, the risk of missed reporting deadlines, incomplete testing records, or compliance gaps rises significantly.

Misalignment also slows progress on pollution prevention and water reuse programs. A siloed wastewater treatment approach may treat effluent adequately for one facility but fail to meet the reuse standards necessary for irrigation or toilet flushing in another. This limits a campus’s ability to reclaim water, reduce demand, and meet sustainability targets which is especially important in drought-prone states like California, Arizona, Nevada, and Texas.

For institutions with large numbers of international students, faculty researchers, and public-facing programs, the stakes are even higher. Poorly coordinated water systems can lead to odor complaints, discoloration, or inconsistent quality in showers, labs, or cafeterias.

What the Data and Guidelines Say

Higher education institutions are under mounting pressure to modernize their water systems, not just for performance, but for public accountability. As environmental challenges grow and student populations shift, campuses are becoming case studies in how large, multi-use facilities must manage limited resources responsibly.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approximately 6% of total water use in commercial and institutional facilities occurs in educational settings. This includes schools, universities, museums, and libraries. Within these facilities, the largest water demands come from restrooms, landscaping, heating and cooling systems, and cafeteria kitchens. On college campuses, the numbers quickly add up: with students using an average of 94 gallons of water per day in dormitories alone, total campus water consumption can range from 600 million to over 1 billion gallons per year.

In California, for instance, California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) systems have implemented their future plans and mandates for water use reduction and reuse. These include integration of campus-wide wastewater treatment and effluent reuse processes for non-potable applications like landscape irrigation and toilet flushing. These initiatives require seamless collaboration between buildings and departments.

Moreover, the rise of emerging contaminants such as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), pharmaceuticals, and microplastics has introduced new challenges that demand coordinated testing and chemical control. Whether in potable water, lab drains, or HVAC condensate, these contaminants often go undetected when campus vendors don’t coordinate testing and monitoring.

Lastly, ANSI/AAMI ST-108, which sets standards for the quality of water used in steam sterilization, now impacts not just healthcare settings but university labs, dental schools, and research institutions. Facilities that serve students and faculty through these services must now ensure that all upstream water treatment is consistent, well-documented, and free of cross-contamination risks.

How EAI Supports the Higher Education Industry

At EAI, we understand that every college, university, and junior college has unique infrastructure, goals, and student populations. We’ve worked closely with institutions across the western U.S. to unify fragmented water programs and strengthen campus-wide outcomes.

As the market leader in higher education water management throughout Southern California, EAI offers integrated solutions for:

• High-pressure boiler systems used in research facilities, medical schools, and industrial labs
• Potable water disinfection programs tailored for residence halls, cafeterias, and gymnasiums
• Wastewater treatment and reuse processes designed to meet sustainability mandates and reduce environmental impact
• Cooling towers, lab sterilizers, and other water-intensive systems vital to operational reliability

Unlike other vendors, we deliver a centralized treatment program—bringing every building and department under a single, science-based strategy. This eliminates chemical incompatibilities, redundant testing, and documentation gaps that stall performance and compliance.

Our higher ed clients benefit from:

• One point of accountability for all campus water systems
• Custom-designed chemical programs built for cross-department compatibility
• Unified monitoring, compliance documentation, and reporting tools
• Decades of expertise supporting HVAC systems, industrial processes, and water reuse initiatives
• Solutions that align with university climate goals, student expectations, and faculty-led research

Whether it’s managing odor control in drain systems, preventing scale in boiler equipment, or improving system efficiency, our team develops tailored programs that support the broader mission of your institution.

Learn more: Water Treatment for Higher Education Campuses

A Smarter Path Forward: Unified Systems, Better Outcomes

The most forward-thinking colleges, state universities, and higher ed institutions are shifting from vendor patchworks to unified, campus-wide programs. These models are more sustainable, easier to manage, and better aligned with the evolving demands of regulatory compliance, sustainability development, and student satisfaction.

EAI partners with institutions to:

• Evaluate current water and wastewater treatment strategies
• Design custom, cross-compatible treatment programs
• Improve monitoring and reporting across all campus systems
• Support initiatives in pollution prevention, reuse, and emerging contaminant control
• Prepare departments and facilities to meet future regulatory and environmental expectations

Ready to streamline your university water treatment strategy? Contact EAI today to evaluate your current setup and develop a smarter, campus-wide solution.