Campus Infrastructure - University Operations

Building Management

Santa Clara University’s primary building management system (BMS) is Niagara N4. Niagara is a company owned by Tridium/Honeywell and is considered one of the best building HVAC control systems and/or energy management systems in the U.S. Currently fourteen buildings are operating on N4 and by Spring 2022 there will be a total of fifty-three buildings operating on Niagara N4. This system allows the SCU Utilities Department to review and control the majority of heating, cooling and lighting systems on campus.

All classrooms, administrative offices, academic offices, student activities and athletic areas are all the areas that the Utilities Department strives to provide the correct amount of fresh air exchanges, appropriate temperature, timely repairs to HVAC and electrical systems and good communication to all building/department occupants.

Data - Information Technology

The Utilities department works in conjunction with the University's central Information Technology (IT) Department to provide infrastructure support for data/telephone cables throughout campus. Utilities manages the means of providing connectivity to the buildings, while IT handles the delivery within buildings as well as all of the services residing outside of the plant infrastructure. On-going projects to upgrade the network infrastructure are under constant development between Utilities and IT, insuring that Santa Clara University, located in the heart of the Silicon Valley, remains a technically advanced facility. Visit the Technology at SCU website for updates about service problems and more.

Gas

Utilities works with local contractors to maintain the distribution and regulation of Santa Clara University's high pressure gas piping system. The University purchases non-core gas which is delivered to the main gas valves on Campus through PG&E underground piping. The main gas valves then distribute the gas to the necessary locations via underground piping.

Smelling Natural Gas? - All gas smells or potential leaks should be reported to Campus Safety Services at (408) 554-4441 as an emergency.

Electricity

The University receives two 12KV circuits from Silicon Valley Power (SVP) into the main Campus substation. Electrical distribution across campus to each facility is owned by SCU and maintained by the Utilities Department.

12kv or 4160V is delivered to each building via underground wiring and "Trayer" style submersible switches. Each building has a dedicated primary Delta/Y transformer and medium voltage switch. This provides an extremely flexible and reliable primary power distribution system.

More information can be found on the Silicon Valley Power Website.

Sewers

Operated under Santa Clara County, our waste water is transported from our buildings through sewer mains by way of pumping stations to a treatment facility at the San Jose-Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP). The WPCP has the capacity to treat 167 million gallons each day, and is also utilized by other cities in Santa Clara County. The wastewater is then treated in three stages: primary treatment, activated sludge secondary treatment, and advanced tertiary treatment. The fresh water is then discharged to the South San Francisco Bay or delivered to the South Bay Water Recycling Project. Learn more about the WPCP here.

Storm Drains

Storm drains are regulated because most storm drains are not linked to treatment centers and the surrounding environment could be contaminated by the pollutants poured down the Storm Drains. In Santa Clara County, water from storm drains flow into the Guadalupe River, then north (downstream) into the San Francisco Bay. Santa Clara University works hard to ensure that we are doing our part in preventing water pollution from storm drains by filtering what goes down the drain.

Pollution Prevention - Read up on how to help!

Recycled Water

In February 2003, Santa Clara University and the city of San Jose decided to pursue a Recycled Water Project for irrigation together. Although two plant species have been found to be incompatible with the water, we've seen no problems of using recycled water for irrigation related to humans or animals.

Only a year after the initiative began, the University's water bill decreased over 30%, and in a period of 7 months alone, over 570 million gallons of recycled water were used for irrigation.