Water consumption analysis and sustainable water use solutions at the University of Padova

Within the EU and UN regulations, University of Padova has started to implement strategies for improving its sustainability in the water sector. This thesis focuses on the water management practices adopted by the university, by analysing new opportunities and its consumption behaviour. Through the analysis of three world universities rankings, 18 EEA universities were selected, and a list of water management best practices was compiled after reading their sustainability reports. The feasibility of implementing these practices at the University of Padova was discussed considering how its size, the distribution and the historical value of the buildings can influence their applicability Among the best practises that are used by EEA universities, there is the high temporal resolution monitoring of water consumption by smart metering systems. The analysis of the data collected by the smart metering system from November 2023 to October 2024 allows for obtaining a detailed water consumption profile of 10 buildings of the university used as reference for the different types and uses: classrooms, offices, mixed and special buildings. As result of the best practices analysis the restrooms of two buildings were upgraded with water saving filters. This pilot project has been managed from the beginning and the final output is a preliminary estimation of water consumption reduction obtained by the analysis of smart metering data.