Grey water to impact saving
‘We plan to use a third of grey water for the toilets, a third for irrigation’
STELLENBOSCH University’s Tygerberg campus will soon be able to use grey water for the flushing of toilets and irrigation.
The institution said water-saving has been high on their agenda since last year, and the installation of grey water systems at its residences is one of the initiatives that could possibly have the highest impact on water usage.
The university aims to be as independent as possible from municipal water sources.
Following an investigation by an engineering and environmental consultation company to determine the water balance on several university campuses, it was decided to install grey water systems.
The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) is situated on the Tygerberg campus.
FMHS facility manager Charmaine Klein said: “The plan is to make better use of the water, for instance by not using drinking water to flush the toilets.
“We plan to use a third of the grey water for the toilets, a third for irrigation, and the last third for filling up the underground aquifer.”
The systems will entail the catching of shower water, which will be sent to a central filtration system for treatment. After that it will be redirected again to the various residences and administration buildings.
Klein said this would be implemented at all the residences on the Stellenbosch and Tygerberg campus, with the exception of Houses McDonald, Helderberg and Botmashoogte as they are situated too far away from the other residences.
The installation of the grey water systems requires the adoption of piping, a task which will not happen overnight, she said.
“Management is currently busy preparing a tender document. We aim to start with the project by the end of the month,” Klein said.
Installation could take about six months for the Tygerberg campus and nine months for the Stellenbosch residences.
It is estimated that the initiative could save as much as 30% of drinking water.
“By relying on changed human behaviour, we hope to save a further 20%. The remaining 50% of water on the Tygerberg Campus will be provided by boreholes.”
Other water saving initiatives already put in place at the Tygerberg campus included the installation of taps with water saving systems, and will soon include catching rainwater for re-use.