16 September 2009

Taking the plunge for Water Amnesty Month

Students and staff at the University of Sheffield are set to turn off their taps and consider their water footprint, in a bid to dramatically reduce water consumption.

Water Amnesty Month, which kicks off in October, aims to encourage all staff and students to think differently about the precious resource, in order to help reduce water consumption in the University, its Union and residences.

And following on from Water Amnesty Month, the University will pass on 40 per cent of the money it saves on its annual water bill for the non-residential campus to The One Foundation. This is a charity that is funded by the sales of One Water mineral water and which donates 100 per cent of its profits to funding PlayPumps that provide clean water to communities in Africa. The pumps take the form of a merry-go-round and bring water to a storage tank which then feeds a tap when children spin on the pump.

As part of the scheme, staff and students can now log-on to the University´s specially designed Water Amnesty website, www.shef.ac.uk/water-amnesty, where they can read more about the project and have access to PDF downloadable Water Diaries to make a note of their savings, as well as an interactive online version. iPhone users will also be able to download a Water Amnesty application to their phone to keep up-to-date with the project.

Throughout the month, the University will also be offering top tips to students and staff on how to save water, including using lids on saucepans to reduce the amount of water needed and turning off taps while brushing teeth.

The University implemented almost 1,000 water saving devices in 2002, which resulted in total water consumption falling by more than a third in the first year – a saving of £40,000 in just four months. These devices included urinal controls to regulate the amount of water used during flushing, toilet cistern dams to reduce the volume of water used by around a third and flow regulators on taps to restrict the flow of water. In addition, screw head taps were replaced by push taps, which have adjustable flow rates and cannot be left running, and new sub-meters were installed around the campus to help the University closely monitor consumption in some of its largest buildings.

The Water Amnesty scheme therefore marks a continuation in the University´s commitment to reducing its water footprint, while helping those in need. Over one billion people in the world do not have access to clean water and 5,000 children die per day through a lack of clean water, so it is hoped that Water Amnesty will allow the University to do its bit to help.

Professor Tony Ryan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Science at the University of Sheffield, said: "Why are they looking for water on Mars? Because without water, life couldn't exist - it's our most precious resource and everyday we waste it.

"Water Amnesty at the University of Sheffield aims to make people think differently about the water they use and why, making them better custodians of our aqueous legacy.

"In areas without potable water, school girls are often kept back from school to collect water for the family to use. Therefore, the money we will send to The One Foundation as a result of the savings made through Water Amnesty, will let the charity provide a water supply to a community without one, by building a well and a pump that will improve the educational prospects of lots of deprived girls as well."

Duncan Goose, founder of The One Foundation, said: "The One Foundation is delighted to be part of the University of Sheffield´s drive to reduce its water footprint and wholly supports the University´s positive stance on creating this inspired and highly creative, initiative.

"Some of the money saved by using less water throughout the campus will be used by the foundation to install unique PlayPumps in Africa. As children play, water is pumped from deep underground for use by the community.

"The fact that as students at the University of Sheffield use less water, kids in Africa will gain access to water in their school, rather than walking for hours a day to collect it, is simply inspiring."

Notes for Editors: For more information on Water Amnesty at the University of Sheffield, click the link below.

The University of Sheffield is one of four Universities within the Free Radicals group taking part in Water Amnesty. Free Radicals is made up of the Helen Storey Foundation, a not-for-profit arts organization promoting creativity and innovation and a growing group of academics across four Universities, all of whom are intent on thinking differently about answers to key world problems. The other Universities within Free Radicals are London College of Fashion, the University of Ulster and the University of Westminster. For more information about Free Radicals, click the link below.

One Water, the brand which funds The One Foundation, was founded in 2004 and is an ethical bottled water company that dedicates 100 per cent of its profits to funding unique roundabout PlayPump community water projects across Africa. For more information on One Water, click the link below.

The University has already received recognition for its water efficiency after winning the Green Gown Award for Water Efficiency by HEEPI (Higher Education Environmental Performance Improvement) in 2005.

In January 2008, the University of Sheffield´s contribution to the `green´ agenda was recognised as an example of good practice in Greening Spires, a report from the vice-chancellors´ group, Universities UK.

For further information please contact: Shemina Davis, Media Relations Officer, on 0114 2225339 or email shemina.davis@sheffield.ac.uk

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