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.
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