Water
The University is a major user of water in Oxford, with consumption in 2009-10 totalling over 398,000m3. Water is a scarce resource, and its treatment and supply has a carbon footprint attached of 1050kg CO2 for every m3. Water supply costs to the University total over £1/m3 and it costs a further £0.55/m3 to treat waste water - so there are both cost saving and environmental drivers to manage and minimise water use.
Standing charges based on the size of the water meter can add hundreds or even thousands of pounds to the annual cost. Water consumption is billed monthly or quarterly by our supplier based on meter readings. Buildings in the Science Area benefit from a large volume tariff, which reduces water costs by 25%.
In an office type building water consumption is related to the number of occupants and the main uses are toilet and washing facilities. In a science laboratory water consumption can be much higher when it is used for instrument cooling and driving vacuum devices (both of which can be avoided) as well as washing and producing de-ionised and softened water.
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