The Environmental Sustainability team is launching a programme to identify toilet issues across the University estate.
A toilet with a broken flush valve can result in toilets that continue to refill with clean water which can add up to 400 litres of water per toilet, per day, so identifying these issues significantly reduce water use.
Leaky Loo strips are adhesive pieces of paper which are attached to the bowl of a toilet and left overnight. If it is wet first thing next morning, then there has been water discharging and the toilet is leaking.
A collaborative pilot scheme has been carried out working with the Facilities Management team in Greenwich House.
Max Shone, the University’s Assistant Energy Manager said, “Some of the strips were completely intact and others looked like there was only a drip of water, so this was not regarded as a problem. For others though it was clear there was an issue.
“The final tally showed that about half (14 out of 27) of toilets were refilling! This is significantly higher than WaterWise research that suggests that around 8% of toilets have this problem at any given time.”
We would like to roll out the scheme across the University estate to identify, and report to maintenance, toilets that need checking out.
To participate please email utilities@admin.cam.ac.uk and the Environmental Sustainability team will provide Leaky Loo strips for your building along with instructions for how to use them and report any issues.