​​​​​“Save water!” was the urgent appeal by facilities management at a recent drought-response information session with students and staff at the Tygerberg campus.

In order to comply with the level 6B water restrictions imposed on the City of Cape Town as from 1 February, the Tygerberg campus has to reduce its water use by 45% – from 550 kilolitres to 300 kilolitres a day – in order to avoid penalties.

With the ‘Day Zero’ deadline looming a mere two months away, Stellenbosch University (SU) is rolling out an extensive drought response plan in attempts to stave off ‘Day Zero’.

Speaking at the information session, SU’s property services manager John de Wet explained several water reduction and reuse initiatives – which have been escalated to and approved by the university’s rectorate – have already been implemented on both the Stellenbosch and Tygerberg campuses. These actions include the development of strategies to reduce water consumption, to optimise current water resources, and the acquisition of alternative water resources.

Tygerberg campus is home to about 4 500 medicine and health sciences students and serves as a place of work for over 1 600 academic and administrative employees.

“Together, everyone on Tygerberg campus uses roughly 550 kilolitres of water per day. We must reduce our use to 300 kilolitres a day, which is in line with the City of Cape Town’s 45% water saving imperative for businesses,” said De Wet.

The university’s Tygerberg-based students and employees were urged to do everything they could to reduce their daily consumption significantly in the coming weeks and the FMHS management team was employing a significant amount of resources and time into water-saving efforts on campus further still. Immediate interventions include leak detection, regular meetings with plumbers to repair leaking or broken plumbing and the introduction of further efficiencies such as toilet volume replacement taps, efficient washing machines and waterless urinals.

The university’s management team, together with its facilities team and external engineering partners, had already started the process of procuring services for Tygerberg campus which would see it reuse water (through the installation of a grey water system) and finding alternative water sources.

The university – and the FMHS – has employed the services of engineering firm, Hatch to roll out on a number of its drought response projects.

In order to supplement the campus’ water supply, four boreholes have been drilled and another will be sunk in the coming weeks. The borehole water will be treated in water filtration system is order to make it potable. The filtration system is projected to be completed by the end of March this year.

In the event of Day Zero being implemented and water supply from the City of Cape Town being turned off, the Faculty will rely on water from an underground reservoir, and the swimming pool on campus, which will be refilled by groundwater from the boreholes, and if necessary, water tanked in from outside sources.

Click here to listen to a short podcast about the drought response action plan for the Tygerberg campus.