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Protecting the future: How schools can save water

Blog
Caitlin Allport
13 Mar 2023

Schools and colleges have a unique opportunity. Not only are there ways you can cut your consumption but you can also help shape the behaviors of your students so they understand the value of water. We’ve set out a few simple ways your school might be able to save water, reduce your bills and become more sustainable.

1. Complete regular visual checks

Something that may seem small, like a leaky tap or toilet, could be wasting as much as 146,000 litres water a year¹. Regularly checking your taps, toilets and showers for leaks is an effective way to spot issues quickly before too much water is wasted. The faster you can find and fix a leak, the lower your consumption, and your bills, will be.

2. Consider investing in controlled urinals

Uncontrolled urinals can waste up to £700 per year, per cistern. This is because they’re constantly active, so even if you’re closed for the holidays and there’s no one around, they’ll still be using water. Investing in urinals with sensors that’ll only use water when needed can help to save thousands of litres of water a year.

3. Do a stop tap test before closing for the holidays

If your school is going to be empty over the holidays, do a stop tap test before you close to reduce the possibility of missing a leak that could cause unnecessary damage. A stop tap test is quick and easy and will help you identify any issues – just turn off your stop tap and then take a meter read. If the digits aren’t moving fifteen minutes after the read, it’s possible there’s an internal issue that’ll need investigating. If the digits have moved or are moving, you could have an external leak that needs repairing.

4. Season-proof your premises

Weather can often affect our water supply, so being prepared for all seasons is a great way to save water. You can take advantage of rainfall by investing in a water butt. The water you collect can be reused on plants and green areas around the school grounds, especially in the summer when there’s more chance of heatwaves or hosepipe bans. In winter, the fluctuating temperatures can sometimes result in frozen or burst pipes, which could lead to leaks. It’s best to prepare your premises for the winter, especially if you might be closed, so make sure you’ve lagged any exposed pipes and put a contingency plan in place for emergencies.

5. Educate the kids about the importance of water saving

Education and awareness are at the root of change, so if you’re looking to be more water-savvy, teaching students the importance of saving water is the best place to start. You could even go one step further and become an Eco School. Focusing on water will educate your students on best practices for saving water both at school and at home.

6. Take and review your meter reads regularly

The more reads you supply to your water retailer, the more accurate your bills will be, and it’ll also mean you can spot increases in your consumption more quickly. A slight increase in water use that you can’t account for could be a leak, so it’s important to address this quickly so you’re not wasting water or money.

7. Invest in water-saving technology

There are options available to schools that’ll help you to understand and keep track of your consumption, such as Automatic Meter Readers (AMRs). These read your meter in real time and allow you to set up alerts, so you’ll know immediately if your water usage has increased. AMRs have saved schools thousands of pounds in the past as well as time and effort by automatically uploading reads directly to your water retailer.

As our chosen framework provider for water, Wave are there to support you. To find out more, download the flyer or explore the 1008 framework.

Source¹: Waterwise

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Author

Caitlin Allport

Marketing Executive

Wave