Reducing On-Campus Residential Water Use Through Norms, Nudges, and Habit Formations

Water droplet as earth

It is true that infrastructure upgrades play a key role in saving water, but that alone is not enough. According to research, human behavioral interventions can potentially reduce residential water use by 15-25%. With California continuing to face persistent drought and water scarcity issues, the stakes are very high. It’s an all-hands-on-deck moment, and that is where behavioral strategies to water conservation come in. The time is now to deploy a more holistic approach and leverage the potential of behavioral changes to complement infrastructure upgrades for sustainable water conservation. 

Most students, faculty, and staff would want to conserve water as their intentions are in the right place. Still, they do face challenges such as forgetfulness, lack of feedback, or just social practices/norms that tolerate wasteful behavior. The idea behind this plan, therefore, is to focus on an evidence-based approach that makes water conservation effortless, visible, and socially rewarding.

The best places for an impactful behaviour change initiative are in residential settings such as student residence halls, where behaviors are formed and reinforced on a daily basis. The reward for directly targeting these behaviors for USF is that it can help build an on-campus culture of sustainability and instill in students lifelong habits for saving water.

 

The Core Strategies

  • Formation of Habits During Transitions
  • Science: People are more open to picking up new habits in key moments of life transition. This is because in such moments old routines are disrupted, which opens the door for new routines to be established. Moving into dorms is one such key transition that USF can therefore leverage to its advantage, as it is the perfect moment to introduce water-saving behaviors.
  • Tactics: 
  • Move-In Week Water Kits: During orientation week, distribute pledge cards, reusable water bottles, reusable straws, reusable super absorbent shammies, and pins and magnets with water conservation messages on them. The idea behind this is that the kits will act as tangible reminders of the importance of water conservation while at the same time providing practical tools that make it easier. Including a QR code on these kits that links to a 5-minute shower playlist would really enhance the experience, as studies have shown that music cues can reduce shower time by 20%. Using music as a timer, a one-song shower would reduce water consumption by up to 120 litres of fresh water per day. Songs like Becky G’s “Shower” and other popular songs among students could really help make the experience engaging.
        1. “If-Then” Workshops: Leveraging Resident Advisors (RAs) as change agents to teach habit-forming plans, like:
  • If I brush my teeth, then I’ll turn off the tap until rinsing.
        1. If I hear the shower timer buzz, then I’ll finish within 1 minute.

A 5-week intervention in India demonstrated that this kind of plan reduced water use by 15-25% over two years, showing the long-term impact of habit formation. 

 

  1. How it works: These tactics leverage moments of change to disrupt old habits so that new ones can be built. By targeting incoming students, especially during move-in week, USF can create a foundation for sustainable practices that extend beyond students’ time on campus.
  • Real-time Feedback & Peer Comparisons
    1. Science: Immediate feedback and social comparisons have been found to be highly effective in motivating sustainable behavior change. We’re all more likely to make a change when we see how we compare against others. hen it comes to saving water, a little friendly and healthy competition can go a long way. When people get feedback on their water usage and see how it compares to their neighbors, they’re way more likely to make some changes and conserve more. This can be made more effective if they receive actionable insights on how to improve.
    2. Tactics:
      1. Dorm Dashboards: Installing digital displays in common areas showing real-time water use per floor or dorm (e.g., “Lone Mountain East: 40 gallons/person today vs. Gillson Hall: 35 gallons/person”). These dashboards provide instant feedback while encouraging friendly and healthy competition between dorms. At Oberlin College, similar energy dashboards reduced usage by 12%, which demonstrates the effectiveness of visual feedback.
      2. Weekly Email Reports: Sending personalized email updates with information like:
        1. Your usage vs. floor average (e.g., “You used 10% more than your peers this week”).
        2. Practical tips like: “Turn off the tap while soaping hands to save 1 gallon/minute!”

A study in Costa Rica showed similar nudges reduced consumption by nearly 5%, which highlights the power of regular feedback.

 

  1. How it Works: When we get feedback, we start to feel a sense of responsibility because we don’t want to be that person who’s wasting water. And when we can see exactly how we’re doing, this provides us with a clear roadmap for improving things. By making water usage visible and giving students concrete actions to take, USF can nudge them towards being more mindful and sustainable.
  • Gamification & Social Rewards 
      1. Science: Truth is, we all love a little competition and recognition. When it comes to saving water, tapping into those feelings of status and achievement can be a total game-changer. By making conservation a fun, engaging challenge, we can create a sense of community and team spirit around saving water. It’s no longer just about doing the right thing–it’s about being part of something bigger than ourselves.
  • Tactics:
      1. Dorm Competitions: Organizing monthly competitions between dorms to see which ones can achieve the largest reduction in water use is a great tactic to influence behavior change towards water conservation. Awarding prizes such as dinners, gift cards, or cash for winning teams is a great motivation. Also, displaying rankings (leaderboards) in the cafeteria and on the MyUSF app to keep students engaged throughout the competition period is another tactic that can be deployed.
      2. “Water Hero” Badges: Recognizing top savers on the campus website, KUSF, and Instagram with badges or shoutouts from campus leadership is another practical tactic that can be deployed. Public recognition not only motivates individual action but also inspires others to follow suit.
    2. How it works: Gamification transforms conservation into a collective mission while rewarding individual efforts. A study showed that gamification and social rewards can be effective tools for influencing behaviour change. By fostering friendly, healthy rivalry and celebrating achievements, USF can create a culture of sustainability that resonates with students.
  • Normative Messaging & Peer Modeling
    1. Science: Studies confirm that people are usually influenced by what they perceive as normal or endorsed by their peers.
    2. Tactics:
      1. Student Ambassadors: Recruit eco-reps from each dormitory to model water-saving behaviors (e.g., posting “5-minute shower selfies” on Instagram). These ambassadors act as role models for their peers while promoting conservation through social media campaigns.
      2. Signage with Local Norms: Place stickers in bathrooms featuring messages like: “9 out of 10 USF students turn off taps while brushing their teeth, join them!”
    3. How it works: We are all influenced by what’s considered “normal” behavior. If we think everyone around us is doing something, we’re more likely to do it too. That’s why normative messaging and peer modeling are so effective. When we see messages saying things like “9 out of 10 students turn off the tap while brushing their teeth,” it creates a sense of what’s normal, and we want to fit in. Peer modeling takes it to the next level. When we see our friends and classmates doing things like taking shorter showers, it makes us think, hey, I can do that too! And it’s not just about seeing what others are doing, it’s about feeling like we’re part of a community that values sustainability.

Conclusion

Behavior change at USF is not about forcing students to act; it’s about designing environments where saving becomes second nature, when students don’t have to think about it.