Mitigating the Use and Waste of Water in the Construction Sector Regarding Stucco

Abstract

This Capstone research was conducted to assess the issue of water waste in construction, more specifically how it is involved with the process of stucco; a very popular construction practice that is used here in Arizona and how the water use could be mitigated. Construction is already a process that puts a very heavy use on water due to several factors including requirements from common practices, clean up, and dust control. In the state of Arizona, these factors are somewhat multiplied due to the various materials that are used and the plentitude of dust that requires water to keep settled. With fresh water access and water use already being a worldwide problem, it is imperative that water management becomes one the top priorities. Millions of gallons of water are used everyday in stucco assembly and clean up so it is critical to create and implement methods that help cut back on how much water is used. To spearhead finding a solution, this research used storytelling, first person observations and document analysis. The discussions and conclusions allowed to develop a formula that can help quantify how much water is needed for a given amount of stucco plaster and ideas regarding how this practice can be implemented on all job sites.