Every drop counts at UNSW

UNSW has reduced its consumption of potable water by a third over the past seven years, and is planning to cut this figure by half over the next four years thanks to a plan designed to increase the University’s environmental sustainability.

Last month the University’s Chief Operating Officer, Peter Graham, signed off the Water Saving Action Plan, prepared by UNSW Facilities Management for the NSW Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability.

The plan outlines where savings have been made since 1999, through borewater substitution, installation of water-saving devices and an active maintenance program. It also provides a framework for continued improvement of water efficiency and waste minimisation that focuses on increased borewater substitution for uses such as toilet flushing and cooling towers, and leak detection and replacement of inefficient infrastructure.

In a further move towards environmental sustainability, the University will also be replacing most of the water it is pumping out, following the installation in August of a percolation chamber to recharge the aquifer from which our borewater is drawn.

The Water Saving Action Plan identifies further annual savings of nearly 168 megalitres (more than 60 Olympic-sized swimming pools) as a result of these measures. In dollar terms, this represents savings of $350,000 each year for an upfront cost of about $1.37 million, giving a payback period of less than four years.

Facilities Management Director Alan Egan congratulated the team responsible for pulling the plan together, and emphasised the importance of continuing to conserve Australia’s most essential resource. “UNSW has demonstrated that both cutting edge technologies and simple commonsense attitudes to the way we work can make a significant difference,” he said. “I’m sure that implementation of this plan over the next few years will continue to derive significant benefits – environmentally, financially, and to the University’s reputation.”

UNSW's aquifer recharge percolation chamber modules