Water Consumption and Management in Schools in the City of Alicante (Southern Spain) (2000–2017): Free Water Helps Promote Saving Water?

Abstract

Studies on water in cities usually focus on household consumption. However, little attention has been given to non-household consumption and schools from a geographic perspective. The objectives of this research are to examine water consumption trends in schools in the city of Alicante (Southern Spain) between 2000–2017, revise how water use is managed in these centers, and, lastly, examine initiatives aimed at environmental education and saving water in these schools. The results obtained from a survey of school directors indicate a low level of participation because only 14 of the 88 educational centres in the city chose to collaborate in this research. Second, and with regard to water trend consumption, in 2017, water consumption increased by 1.76% in comparison with the average for the period of 2000 to 2004, in contrast with a 38.9% fall in non-household general consumption in the city. Lastly, measures to encourage water saving and environmental education in schools are limited. This tendency is explained by the increase in the number of users over the last five years. Second, the water bill is not paid directly by schools’ directors and, thus, ‘free’ water is a factor that does not incentivise savings. A third is the little investment made in the installation of water-saving devices, water-saving plans, or action taken to promote the use of non-conventional water resources to the watering garden. Lastly, low promotion of environmental education or incentives for savings in schools.

Water Conservation Initiative in a Public School from Tropical Country: Performance and Sustainability Assessments

“…The highest water use was recorded with toilet use while the lowest water use was recorded in the prayer room. Similar ndings were reported byFarina et al (2011) in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) andMorote et al (2020) in the City of Alicante (Southern Spain) with the highest water use recorded in school lavatory. This nding can be attributed to student water use, mainly from toilet use, at the school.…”

“…This nding can be attributed to student water use, mainly from toilet use, at the school. According toMorote et al (2020), factors such as school characteristics (number of students, staffs, school size), water use amount per activity and water-saving devices are associated with water use in school. This school had six toilets each with a conventional 6-litre ushing capacity which contributed to the highest water use relative to other selected locations.…”

Improving Irrigation Water Use Efficiency of Robusta Coffee (Coffea canephora) Production in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam

“…In fact, farmers could seek advice from the extension agents on efficient water use, while credit access could release farmers from financial constraints in buying necessary inputs [54,65]. Education level and farmer's irrigation experience affect literacy and technical skills as well as the rate of adoption of technology; therefore, the low level of education could limit the capacity to absorb risks and increase the reluctance to invest in production resources [66][67][68][69][70].…”