Water is a valuable, often overlooked natural resource, one that we take for granted. Here at the university, we use more than 670,000 cubic meters of water per year, spending in excess of £1.5 million annually.
It is not just through our taps, showers and processes that we work to manage and conserve our water use. We have several grey and brown water harvesting systems, as well as Sustainable Urban Drainage systems to help manage and minimise our use of water whilst helping to mitigate the risks of induced occurrences.
Over the past five years there has been a general downward trend in water consumption across the campuses. This has been driven by investments in metering, leak detection and investment in low water consumption equipment, including the decommissioning of cooling towers at the Medical School and the installation of new electric chillers. But, we need to do more manage and converse this valuable resource.
Akintunde Kuye (Tunde) from the NHS Leadership Academy has joined the Sustainability Team on a placement and is focusing on water use on campus; our daily use and also how we can safely reduce, reuse, and recycle water. Tunde has a background in geology and environmental hazards including Environmental Technology with Integrated Water Management. His passion for water, its management and availability, is enhancing the project.
Tunde is exploring opportunities for increased rainwater harvesting and practical ways to use more greywater. He is also looking at how we can manage the risks associated with a changing climate; surface water, snow melt and nature-based and engineered urban drainage solutions, helping to inform the university climate mitigation and adaptation strategy.
Look out for further water updates soon.
Posted on Wednesday 18th October 2023