Since the mid-1980s, Washington State University has decreased the amount of water it pumps from the Palouse region’s deep aquifer from about 700 million gallons annually to about 600 million gallons annually, despite a growth in enrollment and facilities on the Pullman campus. <br><br>University officials attribute the decrease to multiple campus water conservation strategies, including use of water-conserving building plumbing fixtures, more efficient irrigation techniques and improvements in the campus chilled water and steam distribution systems. The university has invested in more efficient industrial chillers and cooling towers for its chilled water system and the new steam plant on