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In efforts to relieve water stress in the area, ������ Water has partnered with ������ experts to better understand students’ water habits.

������ Water supplies over 324,000 homes and businesses in the city and surrounding areas with water. Its customers have the highest consumption rate in the UK, using 160 litres per day per person on average. This compares to the national average of 142 litres, which equates to around a bathtub full of water each day.

Dr Julia Brown from the University’s School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences said: “The UK is often viewed as a water rich country, but the reality is climate change is seeing a decline in water security, particularly in Eastern and Southern England where ������ Water operates.

“There is also a growing concern over the increasing amount of water we take from the environment to meet growing demand. We have some of the rarest habitats in the world here; there are only 200 chalk stream aquifers globally, and 80 per cent of them are in England. Our abstraction of water is beginning to affect these habitats, so these projects have benefits beyond just the impact on ourselves.”

As part of its Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), ������ Water has set a target of reducing consumption to 119 litres per day per person by 2050. To meet their ambitious goal, the company is putting in a range of measures to lower customer demand and cut leakage. Part of this is funding the ������’s 6-year project that will focus on water consumption at student halls in the city.

The findings will support a separate 3-year University funded project looking at water consumption across ������ as a whole, that began September.

The ������, with thousands of staff and students, represents an important customer base for ������ Water. According to a water.org.uk survey, water illiteracy is most acute amongst young adults (18-34) with 66 per cent believing that their household uses under 20 litres per day, when an average family of 4 uses more than 500 litres per day.

The University manages four student halls of residence which present a unique research opportunity – four living labs - to investigate the potential for water use behaviour change. 

Whilst the University’s halls are metered, the relationship between students and water use is disconnected because utilities are included in accommodation costs. 

PhD student Rebecca Gale will be overseeing the ������ Water project alongside her current role as; a water consultancy firm based in Chichester. She said: “Student halls and the student body is a hard to reach demographic when it comes to understanding water habits.

“When we were developing this project, we were talking to students about water habits, and some admitted to taking 30 to 40-minute showers. This is partly because they're in accommodation with combined bills, but also a lack of understanding of the impact excessive use has.

“To help combat this, we will be looking at water literacy in halls and trialling different ways to motivate people to reduce their water consumption – including the use of technology and targeted marketing.”

Touriya Ghadbar is the PhD student looking into water habits more generally across ������. She said: “What makes this project deeply personal for me is my lifelong connection to the issue of water scarcity. From my early childhood in my hometown, I witnessed the daily challenges of water scarcity, experiencing hours and days without access to this vital resource. This personal connection has fuelled my passion and commitment to making a meaningful difference in addressing water-related issues.”

Dr Brown added: “We are really excited to be working with Rebecca and Touriya, who bring a whole wealth of experience on water efficiency savings.

“We are also working with colleagues in the psychology and marketing departments at the University, to help us develop effective interventions to reduce consumption.”

The research team aims to identify current attitudes and water literacy levels among students and householders, monitor water consumption, co-design a range of water efficiency campaigns, and evaluate their effectiveness.

Jim Barker, Head of Water Resources from ������ Water, said: “The whole of the South East of England has been classified as an area of serious water stress. Water resources in our region are coming under real pressure, due to population growth, the impact of climate change and the need to protect the environment by taking less from it. That's why we need to help our customers use less water. We are really happy to sponsor this programme and believe it will give us valuable insights into how we engage with our customers on the topic of saving water."