WATER CONSUMPTION

We use the water bills provided by the water company to calculate statistics on monthly water consumption, report and review these statistics, and track improvements.

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for clean water increased, so the water consumption increased slightly to 222,664 cubic meters. There are a total of 15,606 people in the school. Thus, the water consumption per person per year is 222,664 m3/15,606 persons = 14.27 m3/person.

In order to provide students, staff, and visitors with enough free drinking water, Taipei Tech has a total of 201 drinking fountains. Regular inspections and maintenance, filter replacement, and water quality testing are carried out on drinking water machines to maintain the safety of drinking water.

Each year, we set the previous year's water consumption as the standard and make an effort to control water consumption so that it does not exceed the previous year's consumption. We have also planted a variety of drought-tolerant plants on campus, including lantana, sugar cane, rhododendron, hanging baskets, spider plant, bougainvillea, unicorn plant, Chinese ixora, golden trumpet flower, Pengqiju (wedelia), butterfly orchids, etc. to minimize water usage.

WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

Pursuant to a 2011 agreement with the Taipei City Government, except for wastewater from newly built buildings which are equipped with wastewater treatment equipment for self-disposal, the wash water used in the chemical laboratories on campus and the school’s wastewater are piped into the Taipei City Government’s sewage system for treatment at the sewage treatment plant.

To ensure that the wastewater discharged from laboratories meets Taipei City’s wastewater quality standards and to fulfill our environmental protection responsibilities, wastewater treatment equipment is built in on the ground floor of newly constructed buildings such as the Everlight Building. Drainage from each laboratory is collected and treated before being discharged to the public sewage system.

WATER REUSE AND CONSERVATION

Many buildings are equipped with rainwater recycling systems to recover rainwater and ground water for landscape irrigation and the creation of ecological ponds and landscaping streams.

In 2020, 0.273%  (608 m3) of the water used at the school was recycled (608 m3/222,664 m3 = 0.273%).

Lavatory faucets, toilets, and urinals must be certified water efficient. New recruit lectures and mentoring meetings are used to promote water conservation and correct water use concepts.

A number of professors in the school’s Department of Architecture have assisted middle schools and elementary schools in promoting green campus projects, including implementing water conservation concepts. The Sustainable Environment and Green Building R&D Center was established to realize the concept environmental sustainability through the promotion of green buildings.

TRAINING PROGRAMS AND COOPERATION

The school’s Department of Civil Engineering established the Water Environmental Research Laboratory to improve water resilience through ecological engineering and establish forward-looking water quality and quantity management programs.

With the growing awareness of the importance of environmental conservation to the health of our planet, water management has become an essential part of this cycle. Taipei Tech offers courses in this field including water resources engineering and planning, flood early warning systems, etc. to enhance our knowledge of water management, utilization, and planning, and in an effort to promote the sustainable use of this vital resource as well as the importance of environmental conservation.

Water Environment Research Center is a brand new research institution which was established in association with the Water Resources Agency (lead unit), National Taipei University of Technology, and the University of Virginia in the USA.

Taipei Tech’s Water Environment Research Center and Water Lab have a long-term cooperation agreement with government on water security. In 2020, the center undertook a number of projects under the government, covering water quality improvements in reservoirs and the conservation and management of reservoir watersheds. The Water Lab focuses on water treatment to achieve the goal of water recycling. One Taipei Tech research team designed a “Water Box” for water level sensing and wastewater pollution monitoring that was selected for the second round of the 2020 Presidential Hackathon.