Water Conservation at St Christopher’s Primary School

St. Christopher’s Primary School installed the Smart Utility Management Solution in March 2014 in an effort to reduce water usage and costs. It immediately became clear the the school had an unusually high base flow of 21.72 Litres/Minute (translating to a daily cost of $112.60 for excess water usage).

SUMS Graph 1: Illustrating high base flow water usage of 21.72L/M (representing a daily cost of $112.60)

After consultation with the Principal, the school’s maintenance staff conducted a water audit to determine if there were any visual or audible leaks. The audit revealed a single dual-flush cistern that was running constantly. The cistern was repaired resulting in a drop in base flow water usage to 11.5 Litres/Minute.

As there were no other visible leaks within the school’s fenced boundaries, SUMS Group was called in to provide a leak detection service. This exercise revealed a cracked pipe between the main water meter and the school’s external boundary fence. The school had the pipe repaired and the base flow water usage dropped to 0.11Litres/Minute (translating to a daily cost of just $0.54 for excess water usage).

SUMS Graph 2: Illustrating water usage after leaks are identified and rectified. Base flow drops to 0.11L/M (at a daily cost of $0.54)

Without SUMS, the school would not have been aware of the hidden leak and the total cost for excess water usage during a complete billing period would have amounted to $10,134.00*

Instead the cost for excess water usage came to $50.40*.

Since installation in 2014, the school has received 524 high usage alerts from the SUMS portal, alerting the school to high overnight water usage (during a time when the school is unoccupied).

Estimated total water savings since rectification:                                                               6,015 Kilolitres*

Estimated total cost savings since rectification:                                                                   $21,660.00*

 Since the school installed the Smart Utility Management Solution, the school has managed their water usage very carefully. Their base flow has been as low as 0.05 litres per minute – a significant achievement for a primary school. We are excited to be working with a school so committed to sustainability and resource savings.

*These figures are calculated using the SUMS platform and are based on conservative results. All figures are based on water and waste water costs @$3.60 per kilolitre