Mexico. Researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) developed a system for the use, management and reuse of the water consumed by Ciudad Universitaria and other campuses, to achieve high standards in its quality and less loss of liquid.
The director of this program called "Pumagua", Fernando González Villarreal, explained to local media that this system emerged in 2008 when it served 135,000 people who arrived a day in Ciudad Universitaria and now that number has already increased.
The executive coordinator of Pumagua, Cecilia Lartigue Baca, added that "the water complies perfectly with Standard 127; we have a fairly robust system; we have a weekly sample that is punctual and we have a real-time measurement, so the water of Ciudad Universitaria is totally drinkable."
In this sense, González Villarreal explained that together with the Institute of Biology a study was done that showed that the community spends one million pesos a day on water bottles in that place.
In a press conference held at the Mario Molina Building, he said that "if we can save that million pesos a day, it would be enough for us to provide a better water service and that is in general in the country."
He explained that this system also implemented in the Faculty of Higher Studies (FES) Aragon, in the Morelos Campus and in Juriquilla, is made to be replicable, "we think it can be an example for the use of water in other universities in the country to be improved."
He also pointed out that this system has, in Ciudad Universitaria, more than 200 meters in each of the lines, which have "a transmission device that begins by radio then enters the intranet." The data is then sent to the Engineering Tower where it is processed and made public through the "UNAM Water Observatory".
This observatory has a digital platform that can be consulted in www.observatoriodelagua.unam.mx to know the consumption of the water made, the quality of the water and the participation of the community.
