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Innovation on tap to save water7th Apr 08

Amanda Davey, 06 Sept, 07

Encouraging teenagers to live a sustainable lifestyle should start in the classroom, according to Pittwater High School principal Ross Cusworth.

While most families are making a concerted effort to recycle waste and save water at every opportunity, high schools in particular have been slower to promote and actually incorporate water and waste-saving schemes into their facilities.

However, this is likely to change thanks to a recent Federal Government initiative that will provide additional funding of up to $50, 000 to schools for solar hot water heating systems and rainwater tanks.

Pittwater High is one of the first schools on the northern beaches to embrace broad sustainability measures by installing water tanks, solar panelling and an impressive water management plan.

Mr Cusworth said the school community had seen huge savings in water usage in the past year due to the introduction of water-free urinals and a leak detection and water management system currently saving up to 300 litres of water every day.

Installed by Terrey Hills business Watersave Australia, the system, known as WaterGuard, allows the monitoring of water consumption by time and volume 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Data is stored and may be accessed at any time, even by the students, who are encouraged to analyse it as part of an associated maths program.

 “When I arrived at the school as the new principal, we had an enormous water bill because we were losing thousands of litres a day in leaks,” Mr Cusworth said.

“WaterGuard has enabled us to measure and monitor our water usage 24 hours a day.

“We have some leaks we can’t resolve so the valve is set to turn the water off each night at 10 and turn it on again at 4am before the cleaners arrive.

“If we go over our set water usage rate, the system sends me an email or SMS to enable us to detect and fix the problem quickly.”

 Watersave Managing Director Paul Marsh said the system was initially designed for domestic use but had since been modified for commercial situations.

“It detects abnormal usage on a daily basis and if you go away on holiday you can turn your water off with the flick of a switch instead of having to find your water meter in the garden,” he explained.

“In the UK, a lot of insurance companies are giving home owners reduced premiums if they install the system.”

Mr Marsh said at least 60 schools in NSW had adopted the WaterGuard system although only two of those were on the northern beaches.

For more details, contact Watersave Australia on 1300 368 603 or email info@watersave.com.au

 

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