VU proud to mark World Water Day

Victoria University is proud to mark World Water Day on Tuesday 22 March 2022.

Sustainable management of water is a key interest as we strive to improve water quality, develop effective wastewater treatment and increase water-use efficiency through research, teaching, and university infrastructure.

We are committed to leading by example and reducing campus water consumption:

• through use of rainwater tanks on Footscray Park and Sunshine campuses for reticulating to bathrooms and for landscape use, and limiting the use of mains-fed sprinklers on campus
• through rainwater harvesting and backwash treatment at our Footscray Park Aquatic and Fitness Centre, which saves approximately two million litres of water annually by recycling the water for reuse in the pool
• with the help of our valued partner, Greater Western Water, we offer touchless water fountains at Footscray Park, Footscray Nicholson, St. Albans and Sunshine Campuses to provide convenient fresh clean water, and reduce the number of single-use plastic water bottles.

We are also well known for our water and wastewater treatment research at both the laboratory and pilot scale, providing solutions for industry and communities.

Water research focus areas

VU water research focus areas include:

• increasing water recovery from desalination
• scaling and fouling reduction of membrane systems
• developing advanced oxidation materials and processes for organics destruction
• minimising residuals and residuals treatment
• improving the performance and management of small-scale treatment systems
• recovering valuable resources from domestic and industrial wastewater
• water decontamination projects to remove PFAs from water
• water supply, demand and security research
• next generation water management in the Werribee River catchment

VU has made major commitments to address Goal 6 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): Clean Water & Sanitation.