Water Supply Contingency Planning helps Keele University
Occupying the top position in 2022’s Student Crowd University Awards, the University of Keele is a highly respected UK institution. Accommodating more than 10,000 students each year, it is one of the largest campus universities in Great Britain, with an estate that spans more than 600 acres.
As a campus university, a reliable water supply is essential 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Accommodation blocks, catering buildings and welfare facilities are in constant use, meaning that any disruption to the university’s water supply could leave thousands of students with no other option but to leave campus and return home, leading to missed seminars and potential impacted academic performance.
Something as simple as a burst water mains pipe in a nearby village could trigger a series of disruptive events, culminating in a decrease in fee-paying student satisfaction ratings that may be negative to the university’s award-winning ranking. That is why the WaterTight contingency plan was essential.
Prepare for the worst scenario, ensure the best outcome
Issues with water supply were not unknown to the University of Keele. A burst pipe in a neighbouring village had previously left the university without a water supply, which caused major disruption for students, faculties and staff. Without a water contingency plan, the university had to make the difficult decision to cut its services while the leak was repaired.
This disruption led the university to appoint Water Direct to complete an extensive risk assessment and continuity plan.
As a business, your water supply is not the responsibility of your water utility company
Only one third of businesses are aware that it’s their responsibility to organise an alternative water supply during an outage, meaning two thirds of UK businesses are leaving their water supply to chance. Water Direct developed WaterTight(TM) to help businesses build robust, fit for purpose continuity plans. WaterTight is designed to leave nothing to chance, providing an extensive site, operational and infrastructural audit to help us complete a thorough risk analysis.
Protecting the education sector
An interruption to the water supply can take days or even weeks to repair, which for a campus accommodating around 10,000 students each year, is an unacceptable risk.
A WaterTight contingency plan from Water Direct carefully considers the risks and consequences involved in unexpected water supply interruption and provides advice on mitigation measures to help minimise the impact. In the case of the University of Keele, its site-specific emergency plan includes bottled water for staff and students, static tanks for an alternative supply, and assured delivery by one of our 30,000 litre water tankers to fill tanks that can be plumbed directly into the mains supply using predefined water pressures.
WaterTight doesn’t just help organisations prepare for total loss of water, but also covers most negative water scenarios, which can include low pressure and contamination.
24/7 Support, 365 days a year
Over a typical 12-month period, the Water Direct team delivers around 100,000,000 litres of water to private and public sector organisations across the UK; with uncontrollable elements like extreme weather conditions and ageing water infrastructure, having a proper contingency plan in place should be a top priority.
We’re here to help
Speak to a member of the Water Direct business continuity team today to learn more about how we can help your business stay WaterTight. The team is available to support businesses 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for on-the-spot advice and ongoing support with managing an unexpected interruption to the water supply. With a guaranteed response if required, we will never leave your water supply to chance.
