29 January 2007
The conservation and management of our most precious resource are among the top priorities for the staff and students at Monash University's Clayton campus.
For the past 6 years, the University has actively worked to reduce the amount of water used, conserve and recycle water where possible.
The Monash Water Conservation Committee (MWCC) was set up in 2000 and strives to achieve the following:
- To monitor water usage;
- To oversee and coordinate the development of strategies to reduce water consumption;
- To oversee and coordinate the development of water recycling programs;
- To oversee and coordinate stormwater harvesting systems;
- To develop and manage procedures to respond to water restrictions;
- To report to the Environmental Policy Committee (EPC).
Since its inception, the MWCC has developed a number of water-saving strategies which include:
- Installation of three 45,000L tanks to utilise stormwater and recycle irrigation runoff to water the Number 1 Oval;
- Installation of the Micromet automated irrigation system on the campus grounds to optimise garden and lawn irrigation, featuring automatic shutdown if rainfall occurs during irrigation (at present this system has been over ridden to comply with the water restrictions in force);
- Water auditing by the 'Savewater Efficiency Service' through Yarra Valley Water and the Sustainable Melbourne Fund of all campus buildings and the installation of nearly 5000 water efficient valves onto plumbing fixtures as recommended by the audits. Initially, four building complexes were done in 2002, with the remainder completed in 2005;
- Preparation of a comprehensive water conservation assessment by the Savewater! Efficiency Service through Yarra Valley Water and the Sustainable Melbourne Fund;
- Collection and recycling of boiler house pump cooling water and harvesting of boiler house roof run-off for cooling water use;
- Collection of the watering overflow from the synthetic hockey field for reuse;
- Utilisation of roof water to fill ponds and fountains;
- Installation of magnetic flow meters on sewer outfalls;
- Collection and treatment of stormwater via a"bio-filter" from a multilevel car park to supply sports oval watering needs; and
- Removal of in-efficient laboratory equipment such as stills and water aspirators and replacing these with more efficient reverse osmosis filtering units and diaphragm pumps.
These projects have helped us to better understand how we use water and have effectively allowed us to reduce our mains water consumption by 14% per effective full time student since 2002.
We acknowledge our inclusion in the "Top 200" list of water users in Melbourne but also recognise it's an inevitable position given the size of our organisation and extensive campus environment.
Our Clayton campus is home to more than 23,000 students and 4,000 staff spread across 75 buildings on 100 hectares.
Monash University is committed to water conservation. We are continuing with our work to harvest stormwater, reduce our water usage and recycle water wherever possible. We expect to achieve further significant savings.
Our environmental researchers, scientists, advisers and educators are among the world's best and fully recognise the need for all Australians to continue their campaign for better water saving initiatives into the future, so as to properly manage our history of drought and the imperative of meeting climate change demands.
For more information, please contact Michelle Giovas, Environmental Advisor, OHSE, Monash University +61 3 9905 1018 or Ms Samantha Blair in Media Communications on +61 3 9905 9315 or 0439 013 951.
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