Nelson Mandela University has been recognised for its leadership in sustainable water management, taking home the prestigious sustainable water management initiative award at the 2025 HEFMA (Higher Education Facility Management Association) annual conference.
The conference was attended by 300 delegates.
HEFMA is the flagship association for best practice in facilities and infrastructure management for higher education institutions in Southern Africa.
This year's conference was hosted by North West University with the theme "Innovating Campus Spaces".
HEFMA membership includes the 26 public universities and 50 TVET colleges in SA, as well as universities in Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho.
At the same conference, NMU's senior director for infrastructure services and space optimisation, Melvin Syce, received the lifetime achievement award for his contribution to best practice in facilities and infrastructure management, with 25 years' service to the university and HEFMA.
"Managing large universities is effectively like running a municipality," Syce, a registered architectural professional with a master's degree in the built environment, focusing on facilities management, said.
"All the services, requirements, rules and regulations of a municipality apply to campus infrastructure, management and maintenance, and to running all our operations within budget and with continuous sustainability goals."
HEFMA strives to benchmark infrastructure, facilities and financial management against the best institutions in Southern Africa and internationally, with strategic partner associations in the UK, US and Australia.
Syce has served on numerous HEFMA panels and, during his three-year term as the association's president -- from 2013 to 2015 -- also represented SA at conferences in Tasmania, California and Scotland.
"All universities, local and international, face the same facilities and infrastructure issues," he said.
"These include funding for maintenance, ageing buildings, optimal space usage, suitable and updated software for the range facilities management needs, safety and security, shortage of residence beds and sustainable water and energy systems."
The HEFMA award for sustainable water management was in recognition of the university's best practice water sustainability plan on all seven of its campuses.
"It's really good to have the recognition as we have put considerable effort and finance into implementing it, and it's ongoing," NMU's sustainability engineer Andre Hefer, who is leading the institution's water sustainability plan, said.
The multifaceted water sustainability initiatives implemented according to the plan carried the Gqeberha campuses through the severe drought and threat of Day Zero from 2021 to 2023, when the feeder dams were down to 12%.
"Drought cycles in our part of the Eastern Cape occur about every eight to 10 years and we have a five-year strategy to 2029," said Hefer.
"This will ensure water resilience and full business continuity to buffer emergencies, including municipal breakages and the next drought which we are anticipating from about 2029.
"The strategy is also aimed at reducing our considerable municipal water bill."
At full capacity, the university's total water usage across all its campuses is 1.5 megalitres or 1.5-million litres per day during peak periods.
Up to 70% of this usage is on the largest of its seven campuses, the South campus in Summerstrand.
"To supplement the potable water we purchase from the municipality, boreholes have become our most reliable and biggest alternative water source," Hefer said.
"We have eight licensed boreholes with quality water on our North and South campuses and our Second Avenue campus.
"Borehole water is used to irrigate all sports fields and gardens."
He added that groundwater use was monitored according to sustainable yield research to ensure groundwater resources remained strong.
At the Missionvale and George campuses, large water storage reservoirs have been constructed.
At the George campus, for example, a 600kl water reservoir was completed in December 2024 to complement the 1,000kl reservoir completed in 2022.
The campus required additional water storage for times when the municipal supply fails and for firefighting purposes as it adjoins a forest area.
"On all our campuses, where required, we are also replacing old water reticulation systems to stop breakages and leakages," Hefer said.
"And we are well on our way to replacing the traditional flushing mechanisms in all the toilets as these account for about one-third of all water usage on our campuses daily."
These are being replaced with a cistern-less system using flush valves.
They flush directly from the water supply, using up to half the water of a cistern system. Standard toilet systems also tend to leak, resulting in a considerable amount of water wastage.
Flush valves are more expensive but they are exceptionally hard-wearing, long-lasting, require little maintenance and are tried and tested.
Hefer added that water meters and electronic water use readers were installed on all campuses and at all residences to determine water usage, and the amount of people linked to usage, to keep track and address any over-use.
"Over the next four years the university will spend about R13m to upgrade our water sustainability systems to ensure we are resilient and adaptive for all scenarios.
"The university's communication and marketing division is partnering with us to promote behavioural change and encourage students and staff to use less water.
"The strategy is intended not only for water shortage and drought periods, but to advance our ongoing institutional water conservation and sustainability drive."