Brown University's Water Conservation Initiatives

 

The objective of Sustainable Development’s Goal number 6 is to ensure sustainable management and availability of clean water for all. Water is a necessity for survival of humans and ecosystems globally, yet almost 2 billion people on this planet do not have access to clean water for completing the daily basic activities to keep up with hygiene and sanitation. To contribute their part in this goal, Brown University is committed to reduce its water footprints by lowering on campus water use and increase in water quality on campus.

To address this situation, Brown University has made significant investments which help in reducing water usage. Firstly, Brown’s has introduced trayless dining which has resulted in saving of half gallon of water per person by eliminating the need to wash those trays. This initiative has also helped Brown University in reducing its energy consumption that would have been used to heat the water.

 

Secondly, the Office of sustainability at Brown’s has collaborated with its dining services and construction and planning department to replace its two high water and energy usage dishwasher machines. The newly installed dishwashers has helped Brown’s save 1.25 MM gallons of water annually. Additionally, the new dish washing machines also helps in reducing energy by producing low heat which contributes to Brown universities other mission of reducing its carbon emissions.

To save more water, the Office of sustainability at Brown’s has collaborated with the Climate Action League student group. With the help of this partnership Brown university has installed low flow fixtures on its campus such as low-flow showerheads, faucets and dual flush toilets. Installation of such water efficient fixtures help in reducing water flow by 30% from standard flow. These upgrades create awareness and responsibility amongst students, teachers and other staff members which could lead to saving millions of gallons of water.

 

Apart from these initiatives, Brown University has introduced a Storm Water Master Plan, which aims at campus development in such a way that it does not increase storm water runoff. Storm water runoff refers to flow of water from rain or snow meltdown that lands on surfaces such as roads, building rooftops or any other surface through which water cannot infiltrate into the ground. The water on this surface comes in contact with pollutants, toxic metals, nitrogen, phosphorous etc. and ends up draining with nearby water bodies such as rivers or lakes, causing water pollution and harm to aquatic life. To prevent this, Brown University highly maintain its green roofs. These Green roofs have presence of natural surfaces such as grasses and plants which absorbs most of the water before it collects the pollutants and mix into nearby water bodies.

A green roof on the Granoff center, Brown University for the Creative Arts helps to reduce energy costs and regulate storm water runoff. 

Brown University is aware that freshwater is increasingly being overused and polluted and therefore is committed to reduce its impact on water and continue to inspire other individuals and institutions to use water responsibly to build a more sustainable future for all.

 

Reference: -

 

Sustainability & Resiliency | Brown University. (n.d.). Reduce Water Impacts. [online] Available at: https://sustainability.brown.edu/commitments/improve-water-quality.

 

Sustainability | Brown University. (n.d.). Water-Efficient Equipment. [online] Available at: https://sustainability.brown.edu/operations/water/water-efficient-equipment.

 

 

Sustainability | Brown University. (n.d.). Stormwater Master Plan. [online] Available at: https://sustainability.brown.edu/operations/water/stormwater-master-plan.

 

US EPA, O. (2016). Bathroom Faucets. [online] US EPA. Available at:

https://www.epa.gov/watersense/bathroom-faucets.