Salina ? Kansas State University, including the Salina campus, is launching a series of projects that will keep the university from flushing money down the drain. Literally.

K-State is spending $19 million on the Manhattan, Salina and Veterinary Medicine campuses on an energy-efficiency project, said Dale Boggs, associate director of facilities, maintenance and utilities.

Improvements on the Salina campus are expected to be completed in a year, he said.

The university will replace or retrofit toilets, urinals and sinks in 11 buildings on the Salina campus.

The old toilets use up to 3 gallons of water a flush. The new toilets will use only 1.6 gallons.

Sinks will be fitted with aerators, which also conserve water. Boggs said the Salina campus will use 2,022 fewer gallons of water each year, which will result in a $9,929 savings.

Windows will be replaced in four buildings, which Boggs said would save the university on energy and natural gas costs totaling just more than $7,600 yearly.

Lighting in 12 buildings also will be upgraded. Older model fluorescent bulbs will be replaced with new ones that put out more light but conserve energy.

Boggs said the Salina campus was expected to save about $22,510 by upgrading the lighting.

“The projects we are looking at are energy-efficient and friendly on the environment,” Boggs said.

The projects were launched on all three campuses after an energy audit.

The company that did the audit came back with several ways the university could conserve energy, Boggs said.

He said they looked at the payback of each project.

“Some were just better than others,” he said. “We thought we’d get the best payback from these projects.”