Goal 6: Policies, processes and practices
The following page outlines specific policies, processes and practices in support of Sustainable Development Goal 6 Clean Water and Sanitation.
Measuring water consumption
We measure the total volume of water used in the university that is taken from mains supply, desalinated or extracted from rivers, lakes or aquifers. Our water consumption figures are annually published as part of our environmental sustainability reporting, (page 1). The most recent data reported on HESA indicates the volume of water used in the whole university was 690,607.708 m3 in the year 2021/22.
Wastewater treatment
We have implemented a process to reuse rainwater in our buildings. Alan Gilbert Learning Commons uses a rainwater drainage and harvesting system with a capacity of 20,000 litres which feeds the WC cisterns throughout the building. Alternatively, the majority of our wastewater treatment takes place with United Utilities.
Water system pollution prevention
We have processes to prevent polluted water entering the water system, including pollution caused by accidents and incidents at the university. Adhering to UK government pollution prevention guidance, as outlined in our Environmental Sustainability Strategy, we have a range of health and safety procedures and policies to follow, one of which is our COSSH procedure.
Free drinking water
We provide free drinking water for staff, students and visitors. We have a document that lists all our free water dispensers on campus. We have improved water dispenser provision across campus and produced high quality signage for free drinking water facilities. We have mapped our publicly accessible water dispensers on our Sustainability Map to encourage our staff and students to refill their reusable water bottles for free.
In our Responsible Plastics Action plan, the first row shows that water fountains can be located by visiting the sustainability map. Many of our Food on Campus outlets are available to members of the public on the Refill app which also shows plans to continue to improve water dispenser provision across campus and produce high quality signage for drinking water facilities.
Water conscious building standards
We apply building standards to minimise water use. We follow Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology which is the world’s foremost environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings. This includes multiple measures to minimise water use during design, construction and operation.
Our EPM PM7 Code of Practice for Design Teams specifies a requirement for all new builds to reach ‘excellent’ and all major refurbishments to reach ‘very good’ as detailed in section 9.1.8. Water reduction is also outlined in section 9.1.11.
Water conscious planting
We plant landscapes to minimise water usage. Our living wall has been designed to minimise water usage using computerised automatic irrigation. We plant green roofs and walls for several reasons: they are part of our climate-adaptation actions, promote wellbeing through green space, and minimise water usage, all benefits are highlighted in our green roofs policy. Another way we minimise water use through our planting landscapes is by adding swell gel to compost for summer and spring bedding, and shrub borders to retain water during the hotter months of the year.
Water reuse policy and measurement
We have a policy to maximise water reuse across the university. Our Energy and Utilites policy includes maximising water reuse across the university and measures to minimise water consumption (pages 26-29), as does our Code of Practice for Design Teams. We also publish our broader approach to sustainable use of water.
We measure the reuse of water across the university. We reuse water collected from Broomcroft Hall and the Firs botanical grounds for plants in our greenhouse. Our MECD building has a water butt collecting rainwater from the roof each year. From this we have estimated that we are reusing at least 24,000 litres of water per year.
Promoting water management
We provide free educational opportunities for local communities to learn about good water management. We have provided a world-leading free online massive open online course (MOOC) regarding clean water and sanitation. This is accessible to anyone able to sign up and is available to enhance education around water management in both local and wider communities. Our academics are working with a range of water companies, universities, home builders & local authorities on an Ofwat project Enabling Water Smart Communities – so communities can learn how to conserve water, manage drought & floods.
Promoting conscious water usage
We actively promote conscious water usage on campus, and in the wider community. On campus we have put together an advisory set of documents for those who wish to reduce water usage in the office and in labs. Our research is helping to inform how limited freshwater resources can be managed sustainably and efficiently to meet the competing needs of human uses and the environment. Major on-going research in this area includes sustainable water consumption, identifying the drivers of individual and household water consumption practices, and developing solutions to incentivise more efficient water use behaviour and governance. We are explicitly supporting sectoral and inter-sectoral water policy both in the UK and internationally, including support for more equitable and sustainable water management in OD countries to enable economic growth and improved resilience to climate change.
Off-campus water conservation support
We support water conservation off campus. Water conservation is a principal theme for our Manchester Environmental Research Institute, which brings together academics from all University Faculties with partners from industry, government, civil society groups, NGOs, and environmental organisations to address water conservation, climate change and clean water – at a local to global level. Our Hydrocitizenship research is helping to understand how communities live and engage with the environment, which is key for promoting sustainable management of water resources off campus, in local communities.
Sustainable water extraction
We are utilising sustainable water extraction technologies on associated university grounds, on and off campus. On our Environmental Sustainability webpage we have highlighted how we use sustainable water extraction techniques, such as sustainable urban drainage (SUDS). SUDS has been used in our new Engineering building to achieve 30% reduction from existing site run-off.
Cooperation on water security
We cooperate with local, regional, national, global governments on water security. We have worked with local, regional and national policymakers on the Joint Water Evidence Programme. We have collaborated with the UK’s Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs bringing together the UK’s senior policy makers and thought leaders from academia to address our local, regional and national water environments and the challenges these face over the next 50 years. Our FUTUREDAMS project is also working with national and international governments to ensure that dams can provide a secure and sustainable source of water.