Water management as a vital factor for a sustainable school

Abstract

Water is essential in educational buildings as it serves several purposes, such as: drinking, cleaning, and construction work. Therefore, it is necessary to rationalize its consumption for its importance, as it is the core of the current water wealth and it is one of the most controversial issues in achieving the concept of sustainability. Egypt is facing a lot of problems and pressure on water supplies. Adopting water sustainability in schools is basically focused on reducing consumption, water collection, and water recycling. The paper tackles and highlights the sustainable methods, technique, and initiatives that are implemented in the internal and external design of school buildings, how to manage sustainable water in schools, in addition to an access to guidelines and recommendations on future proceedings for more sustainable schools. This research aims to provide easy-to-read guideline to facilitate the management of sustainable water in schools. It includes guidance on the application of sustainable water utilization and sustainable drainage, during the stages of school design and operation. The study discusses sustainable water management in some of the global schools in various areas of the world, where these schools have successfully adopted water efficiency and preservation standards and applied the criteria and measures of sustainability.