Our initiatives - Water
Great news on progress towards (and beyond) water targets
Water use on CSU campuses has decreased 40% since 2006! This surpasses the Institutional Development Plan target of a 25% reduction by 2011. It means savings of approximately 300 million litres of water from 2006 (and savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars). More details, including campus by campus figures, are available in the CSU Environmental Scorecard.
Some of the initiatives that have contributed to the reductions follow.
Free Water Project
CSU is providing alternatives to bottled water on our campuses, through the installation of new bubblers and bottle refilling stations, and the sale of reusable bottles at our retail outlets.
The removal of bottled water sales from CSU campuses has many environmental benefits, including:
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Reduced energy associated with production, packaging and transport of bottled water;
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Reduced waste produced by disposable bottles; and
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Triggering cultural change, by encouraging staff and students to consider the impact their everyday choices can have on their environment.
Become a fan of Free Water at CSU on Facebook! www.facebook.com/FreeWaterAtCSU
Initiatives by Campus
Albury-Wodonga Campus
Water saving projects have included self imposed water restrictions at the Albury Campus and increased grey water harvest at the Thurgoona campus. Also, rainwater tanks have been modified to allow rainwater to be directed to grey water ponds during low occupation periods thereby negating the need for potable water to maintain the reed beds.
Bathurst
The majority of showerheads at student residences in Bathurst have had flow restrictors installed or been replaced with restricted flow heads.
Cooling towers in several buildings at Bathurst campus have been replaced, with anticipated water savings of millions of litres. In 2008 a trial of a waterless urinal was also started and a special low water urinal has been installed in Bldg S-1.
Orange
Orange campus has replaced the watering system for its sports field with a much more efficient microprocessor controlled system. Also, water from the dam, rather than town water, is used on the sports field.
Wagga
The Division of Facilities Management at Wagga campus has been working towards adopting level 4 water restrictions as a permanent standard for the grounds (with the exception of its sports playing fields). Large savings in water have been made through changes such as: progressively changing from spray to drip irrigation, reducing areas of turf, increasing use of mulch and compost (from the campus' Closed Loop Organic Recycling System) and only using storm water to fill the decorative lake. Water savings are also being achieved through trials of a waterless urinal and subsurface irrigation of turf.
New buildings
It is now the norm that new facilities at CSU are equipped to harvest rainwater, which is used to flush toilets or for irrigation. Examples of this are the new student residential accommodation (600 beds across three campuses), the buildings for the new School of Dentistry and Health Science and the new academic accommodation building AA3 at Thurgoona.
Ecosave Project
The project involved an investment of $300,000 by CSU, to which the NSW Public Facilities Fund added $70,000. The initiative has notable economic benefits in addition to environmental benefits. As also noted under 'Our initiatives - Energy', the combined savings water and energy savings should be worth more than $80,000 per year!
What can you do?
(Students in residences may only be able to act on the first point below while on campus. When at home, however, they may be able to influence action on the other points.)
Tips:
- Limit the length of your showers. (Put timers near showers.)
- At home, take steps to make your garden more water wise (e.g. through mulching, selecting drought tolerant plants or using subsurface irrigation for lawn). Use a timer with any sprinklers.
- Consider installing flow restrictors, AAA water saving shower heads and dual flush cisterns if you don't have them already.
Do you have any suggestions to help manage water? Voice your suggestions here!