| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 59.36 |
| Liaison | Ben Dharmendra |
| Submission Date | July 30, 2021 |
University of Sydney
OP-21: Water Use
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.28 / 4.00 |
Zoe
Morrison Strategy Advisor Strategy Office |
Level of ”Physical Risk Quantity” for the institution’s main campus as indicated by the World Resources Institute Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:
Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total water withdrawal | 606,281 Cubic meters | 704,223 Cubic meters |
Potable water use:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use | 254,638 Cubic meters | 469,717 Cubic meters |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | July 1, 2018 | June 30, 2019 |
| Baseline Period | July 1, 2017 | June 30, 2018 |
A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
The date sequence follows the University requirements for TEFMA. 2017/2018 was considered a normal year, in terms of rainfall, student attendance and irrigation use. It was also the year before the University began intervention and infrastructure upgrades to reduce it's potable water use.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 2,051 | 1,188 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 10 | 10 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 13 | 13 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 54,904.16 | 52,246.30 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 7,361.90 | 7,077.20 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 47,227.80 | 44,805.13 |
Potable water use per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use per weighted campus user | 254,638 Cubic meters | 469,717 Cubic meters |
Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
Gross floor area of building space:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area | 853,684 Gross square meters | 848,662 Gross square meters |
Potable water use per unit of floor area:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use per unit of floor area | 0.30 Cubic meters per square meter | 0.55 Cubic meters per square meter |
Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
Area of vegetated grounds:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Vegetated grounds | 166 Hectares | 166 Hectares |
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds | 3,652.30 Cubic meters per hectare | 4,242.31 Cubic meters per hectare |
Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:
The University has a long-standing 'Stop the Drip' campaign running throughout all campuses. The campaign, via posters and stickers, encourages staff and students to report leaks (and other sustainability-related issues such as A/C units/areas that won't turn off, temperature irregularities etc.) The Campus Operations Services prioritises these issues to be fix as a priority 2 issue (priority 1 is restricted to risk to life/injury issues).
A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:
Mentioned in OP22 - Rainwater Management
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
During the performance reporting year, the University opened a number of buildings with integrated rainwater tanks. These tanks are linked to the building water filtration system to accommodate the flushing of toilets and other non-drinking requirements. This reduced the amount of potable water drawn from the mains.
In 2019, University of Sydney commenced the roll out of the Hunter Hydrawise irrigation controllers to better control, understand,standardise and centralise the irrigation within the campus landscape.
Aims and objectives were to bring many outdated and old irrigation controllers into a more modern control system with remote access. The ideal that many, if not all, controllers could be ultimately monitored remotely from a central PC with water saving software that is weather based to save water and ensure that irrigation was only occurring when programmed or needed. Adjustments automatically occur through weather enabled feed in to the controller on a daily basis.
Estimated water savings since the implementation of the Hydrawise program are approximately 30%.
Website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Part 3: The total vegetative grounds amount of 166hec is the vegetative ground that receives watering. Omitted from this total is grounds used for farming or animal use (where no water feed systems were present) and ground not currently irrigated.
Part 3: The total vegetative grounds amount of 166hec is the vegetative ground that receives watering. Omitted from this total is grounds used for farming or animal use (where no water feed systems were present) and ground not currently irrigated.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.