Best practice - waste management and minimisation

Water - business case

There are considerable benefits from reducing water consumption including:

Saving money – water and sewerage together cost more than electricity in a growing number of universities and colleges so a 10% reduction means significantly more money for core educational objectives
Anticipating regulation – the indications are that water and sewerage charges are likely to increase faster than inflation in coming years
Better credibility/image – a good record in water efficiency is essential to achieve a ‘green' environmental reputation, which can in turn create other benefits such as improved recruitment

As the box shows a water efficiency programme can also save money by identifying problems with water supply and invoicing.

Business Case
Best Practice
Links
Resources

Matching Supply with Demand Can Save Money

A major opportunity to cut water consumption arises from the charging system. The standing charge is based on the capacity of the supplier's water meter and pipework, irrespective of the amount of water going through them. In practice, supply is often over-sized – for example, because they were over-specified in the first place, consumption patterns have changed since installation etc. Hence, persuading utilities to downsize supply to better match the scale of demand (by inserting a reducer, modifications to supply pipe work or changing the meter) can create significant savings. Of course, the water company must carry out the downsizing within strict guidelines. There are safety issues to consider such as whether the supply feeds a fire hydrant and general loss of pressure for equipment. Nonetheless, several universities have saved tens of thousands of pounds through this means – Liverpool John Moores for example has now downsized the supply to most of its 43 buildings.

Created by Peak Sites