Report Water Wastage
Anyone can report a problem in under a minute, anonymously if they prefer, and receive a reference number.
Our solution
Introducing VVU WaterWatch: A Smarter Way to Conserve Water.
A campus process that connects the people who notice water problems with the people who fix them, and measures what changes.
One process, five connected features
Today a leak may go unreported, be reported informally, or be fixed without anyone recording what it cost or saved. WaterWatch gives every step an owner and a record.
Water Monitoring
Authorised administrators record location, date, consumption, unit, meter reading and measurement method.
Water Issue Tracking
Every report moves from Submitted to Under Review, Assigned, In Progress, Resolved and Closed.
Conservation Actions
Each repair or intervention records the issue, action, responsible team, date, cost in GHS, status and verification.
Community Participation
Pledges, practical tips, pilot updates and feedback keep students and staff involved.
Impact measurement
Baseline and pilot readings are compared like-for-like to estimate water and cost savings.
Report water wastage
Seen water leaking, a broken pipe, an overflowing tank, a faulty tap or a toilet that keeps flushing? Tell us where and what. It takes about a minute.
- Anonymous by default. Add your name only if you want a follow-up.
- You'll get a reference number to quote when following up.
- Photos are optional and location metadata is stripped before upload.
- Report descriptions are not shown on the public pages.
For emergencies such as flooding or burst mains, also contact Estates and Facilities directly.
Campus water hotspot map
Every report is tied to a location, so repeated problems show up as hotspots that Estates/Facilities can prioritise.
Applying TRIZ to a real contradiction
How the team resolved the tension between saving water and keeping campus life comfortable.
The contradiction
We want to reduce water consumption and loss (improving parameter) without reducing comfort and convenience for students and staff (worsening parameter). Rationing or restricting supply would save water but make campus life harder, the classic technical contradiction TRIZ is designed to resolve.
The aim is to remove waste, not use: water nobody benefits from, leaks, overflows, taps left running, can be eliminated without anyone feeling a loss of comfort.
Feedback
Introduce a feedback loop: reports, reference numbers, status updates and before/after readings show users that reporting leads to action, which encourages more reporting.
Self service
Let the system's own users detect and report problems, instead of relying only on periodic inspections by a small maintenance team.
Preliminary action
Act before waste occurs: float valves, self-closing nozzles and signage are put in place in advance, so saving water needs no extra effort at the tap.
SCAMPER analysis
SSubstitute
Replace informal word-of-mouth reporting with a structured digital report and reference number.
CCombine
Combine reporting, repair tracking and consumption monitoring in one record, so each repair can be linked to its effect.
AAdapt
Adapt the helpdesk ticket model used in IT support to campus water maintenance.
MModify
Modify the maintenance routine to prioritise by severity and hotspot frequency instead of first come, first served.
PPut to another use
Use existing student phones and the SRC's channels as sensors and awareness tools, no new hardware needed to start.
EEliminate
Eliminate duplicate or lost reports and unrecorded repairs; eliminate guesswork about whether interventions worked.
RReverse or Rearrange
Reverse the flow: instead of facilities searching for leaks, leaks are brought to facilities by the community.
A process innovation
WaterWatch changes how the university finds, fixes and measures water problems. It does not introduce a new product or water technology; it redesigns an existing operational process.
Incremental and sustaining
Incremental: it improves the existing maintenance and reporting process step by step rather than replacing the water system. Sustaining: it strengthens how Estates/Facilities already works and serves the same users better, rather than creating a new market or displacing current providers.
WaterWatch in operation
A short walkthrough of reporting, the admin dashboard, water readings, issue tracking, conservation actions and impact reporting.
What we learned from the pilot
Results from testing WaterWatch with real users at selected campus locations.
Practical water conservation recommendations
Close taps fully
Turn taps off while brushing or soaping, and check they stop completely when you leave.
Report, don't ignore
A drip you report today is a repair Estates can plan, not a flood they have to react to.
Use only what you need
Fill a bucket instead of running a hose; run washing only with full loads.
Encourage others
Remind roommates and colleagues, social norms change habits faster than signs.