Goal 6:
Clean Water and Sanitation
Water Re-Use Policy
The University of Newcastle has a direct policy intended to maximise water reuse across campuses.
The Environmental Sustainability Policy explicitly states, “We will: reduce our mains water usage, increase the natural irrigation of our bushland campuses, and seek ways to re-use our water.”
(Environmental Sustainability Policy, Section 3 - Water)
This commitment is part of a broader strategy to ensure effective water management and water efficiency in all key projects, aligning with the University’s sustainability goals and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The University’s priority actions to maximise water re-use include:
- Setting targets in the University’s Environmental Sustainability Plan to reduce mains water usage/m2 by 15% by 2025.
- Increasing natural irrigation of bushland to reduce demand for potable water
- Integrating Water Sustainable Urban Design principles into landscape management
- Integrating water efficiency as a key project design component of the Environmental Sustainable Design (ESD) Guideline Tool
- Ensuring all new buildings meet the Green Building Council of Australia 6 Star rating which specifies water efficiency requirements
- Measuring water re-use from tanks from approximately 300 kL in 2018 to 1,229 kL in 2021, due to additional tank capacity, higher rainfall, maintenance on existing tank systems and better commissioning oversight of new tank systems
- Two 1.1 million-liter rainwater containers were installed in 2021 to irrigate sporting fields and decrease the demand for potable water. During that year, two additional 1,000 kL containers for oval irrigation and an additional 70 kL of rainwater tank capacity were added as a result of new buildings and refurbishments. By 2023, the campus consumed a total of 5,536 kL of non-potable water, with 1,925 kL coming from dams and 3,611 kL from rainwater containers. This accounted for approximately 2.5% of the total water consumption.
- Construction of two million litres of stormwater retention ponds to irrigate ovals, three 1,000 kL dams with re-use volume 1,042 kL/yr tank capacity in 2021 for oval irrigation
- An additional 15 campus buildings have rainwater re-use systems connected to internal plumbing and amenities to offset mains water for toilet flushing.
The current policy was effective from the 8th of December 2022 and will be reviewed in December 2025.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.