The Experience of Liverpool John Moores University          

Like most universities in the 1990s Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) had no detailed information on water consumption and simply paid the provider’s invoice when it was received. However in 1998 it was noticeable that water costs were approaching those for gas. The outcome was a detailed analysis of previous year’s invoices which revealed many anomalies. These included continued billing for sites which the university which no longer owned, and very excessive consumption at one site which was eventually traced to a large underground leak.

The generation of this detailed information eventually resulted in the university receiving a repayment of over £80,000 from the supplier. It also stimulated a joint programme to ensure that each building was separately metered at a single supply point. The information which these new meters have provided highlighted opportunities for – and soon resulted in the implementation of – water efficiency measures, many with paybacks of 2-3 years or less. These included dams in cisterns; urinal controls, percussion taps, inline restrictors and replacement showerheads.

The net result of these measures was a reduction of consumption from 268,168 cubic meters in early 1998 to 72,053 cubic meters in early 2001, with a fall in annual costs over the same period from £257,288 to £95,842. These benefits were gained with an investment of £75,000.

Because water has been neglected in most HEIs there are great opportunities to achieve this level of savings in other universities. The starting point is a thorough audit of consumption, followed by a metering strategy to build a more detailed picture of consumption. The greatest gains are also likely to be achieved by a continuous improvement programme rather than occasional one-off measures.

 

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