New sinks save up to 65% of water

Handwashing has become more frequent every day since the start of the pandemic, due to safety protocols as a main activity of care and protection to counteract the spread of COVID-19. Taking this into account, the Girardot branch installed six portable handwashing stations, two of which were made by our collaborators, with automatic activation, which are activated by a sensor.

"It is worth highlighting the work of the maintenance area operators who designed, manufactured and installed these water-saving handwashing stations, which will be located in the strategic places where the disinfection activities of the guide for the management and care of COVID-19 are carried out," said Juan Carlos Méndez Forero, Administrative Director of the Girardot Branch.

The official also stated that the goal is for the entire campus to have water-saving devices. Currently, the first floor of the academic building already has water-saving devices in its restrooms. This type of faucet allows for savings of up to 651 liters per minute in water consumption. “If using the conventional system we use four liters per minute, with this system it would only be 1.2 liters, which is a significant saving of this important resource,” said Edith Rossana Serrano Delgadillo, Environmental Management System professional for the campus.

“We want to take advantage of the fact that this week we are celebrating World Water Day, which was on March 22nd, to reaffirm our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 6 on Water and Sanitation and the Nature dimension of the MEDIT Transmodern Digital Educational Model, sharing the actions we have been developing for the benefit of our planet, and as part of the preparation for the international certification ISO 14001:2015, such as facility upgrades and ongoing water conservation campaigns,” said the Administrative Director, who has always stood out as an environmental leader in the institution.

During the graduations held in recent days, these handwashing stations were used, demonstrating the efficiency of resource use and the saving of up to 152 liters of water per day, with a daily capacity of 50 people between students and administrative staff for 3 consecutive days.

Environmental engineer Roxana stated that “we can identify that the implementation of water-saving devices in the Girardot branch allows for savings in water consumption of 36.48 m3 (cubic meters of water) per year, which is equivalent to approximately 36,480 liters of water, an activity that aims to fulfill the objectives of the water saving and efficient use program –PUEA of the Institutional Environmental Management Plan PIGA.”.

It should be noted that the maintenance workers from the Girardot branch who made the sinks were Jesús Antonio Suarez, Samuel Ariza and Farid Cárdenas Rubio.

Water is life, and “life is the great bet of the 21st century”, the basis for developing ourselves as transhuman people, (MEDIT. Pg 4).

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