West Wing Water Needs & Rainfall Harvest Potential (3WNRHP) Project1

Abstract

This study is part of a suite of 6 water projects initiated by the Faculty of Science due to the frequent Water Shortage Days (WSDs) at NUS. This study set out to determine the roof area of Building A at the Mountainside so that we could calculate the volume of rainfall that we could harvest and store in water tanks in order to supplement our water needs (consumption rate) during the WSDs. It also looked at determining the water consumption rate at the West Wing of the NUS-IHE A-Building (WWNIAB). The results show that our consumption rate exceeds the amount of rainwater that we could harvest and store from the period this study took place (March – May 2012). However, the consumption rate determined so far, is too high - perhaps the 2minute urinal flushing time interval could be a cause that is pushing the consumption rate up. To find the actual consumption rate for WWNIAB, there is an urgent need to extend the urinal flushing time interval to one hour.