INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING

(SKKK1023-03)
Semester 1
Session 2014/2015

WATER SUSTAINABILITY CAMPAIGN (PART 1)

TOPIC:
FAMILIARIZATION OF SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT

Team Name

: Creative Problem Solver (CPS)

Team Members

: Muhamad Iqbal Bin Noor Azizi

Koh Zhe Yan

A14KK0048

Nur Hayati Bt Muchtar

A14KK0109

Tan Yue Dian

A14KK0143

Section

: 03

Lecturers

: Professor Dr. Khairiyah Mohd. Yusof

Dr. Hashim Hassan

1.0 Abstract

A14KK0071

Water Sustainability Campaign (WASCAM) was carried out to investigate the concept
of water sustainability. In this paper, we were discussing on the idea of water conservation
and sustainable environment, water consumption, benchmarking and engineering-based
solutions in general. The methodology used was literature researching from the sources such
as journals, articles and surfing the internet for information resources. Furthermore,
recommendations and suggestions were identified during literature reviewing as our
references in purposing the best solutions in the end of this study. In short, we have identified
the differences of three countries from different continents from the aspects of water
conservation, water consumption, and water management in which the benchmarking is
made.

2.0 Table of Content

Chapter

Title

Page

1
2

5
6
7

Abstract
Table of content
Introduction
3.1 Background of study
3.2 Problem Restatement
3.3 Objectives of the Stage 1
Literature Review
4.1 Water Sustainability Development
4.1.1 Definition
4.1.2 Social
4.1.3 Environment
4.1.4 Economy
4.2 Water Conservation
4.2.1 Definition
4.2.2 Concept of Water Conservation
4.2.3 Important of Water Conservation
4.3 Water Consumption
4.3.1 Definition
4.3.2 Bare minimum water usages for a typical person
4.3.3 Water consumption in Malaysia
4.4 The cost for getting the clean water
Methodology
Results, Analysis and Discussion
Conclusion
Appendix
Gantt Chart
References

3.0 Introduction

1
2
3
3
3
3
4-7
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
7
8
9
10
11-12
11
12

Safe drinking water is scarce! However, we take it for granted, we waste it! Today, all
around the world, still many people spend their entire day searching for water. Our country
will also face this problem as we do not use our water properly.
3.1 Background of study
The consulting teams formed is to help our government to tackle this problem in a
small area. Survey will be carried out and the result or information obtained will become the
reference for authorities to solve this problem. This study is more about the sustainability of
water for our future generation. Action must be done in a more specific area rather than
giving general solution .So, these consulting teams will go through all the investigation stage
to identify the cause of water crisis and come out with the data as well as strategies.
3.2 Problem Statement
The water consumption increase cause the water tariff plan to be increased which
become a big problem at Johor. The unconscious and the ignorant of KTHOs students used
their water excessively and without care made this problem become worse. They do practise
wrong water usage habit which trend to higher water consumption. Besides, the higher
amount of water consumption cause the increasing of the cost of getting clean water .So, the
water usage pattern of KTHOs students must be obtained for this problem. Getting the ways
to minimise the water usage is also significant for this survey.
3.3 Objectives of the Stage 1

To understand more about sustainability of water.

To investigate the water usage pattern.
To do comparison of water usage with others countries.
To find the bare minimum water usage for a typical person.

4.0 Literature Review

4.1 Water Sustainability Development

4.1.1 Definition
The word sustainability is derived from the Latin sustinere (tenere, to hold; sub,
up). Sustain can mean maintain", "support", or "endure. Sustainability development means
that development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.
4.1.2 Social
Sustainability issues commonly related to the environment but it is not necessary
focusing to environment only but it also can generally expressed to social development as
well as in ethical terms of stewardship but implementing change is a social challenge which
among other things, international and national law, urban planning and transport, local and
individual lifestyles and ethical consumerism. Besides, the relationship between human rights
and human development, corporate power and environmental justice, global poverty and
citizen action, suggest that responsible global citizenship is an in escapable element of what
may at first glance seem to be simply matters of personal consumer and moral choice. Social
justice is the one of sustainability development that needed to build peace among the
community. Social disruptions like war, crime and corruption divert resources from areas of
greatest human need, damage the capacity of societies to plan for the future, and generally
threaten human well-being and the environment.
4.1.3 Environment
At the global scale and in the broadest sense environmental management involves
the oceans, freshwater systems, land and atmosphere, but following the sustainability
principle of scale it can be equally applied to any ecosystem from a tropical rainforest to a
home garden.
4.1.4 Economy
For the area of sustainability of water at economy, green economy is the major
activities that has carried out. Green economy may help the water sector to achieve
sustainable development in economy area and result in improve of human-being life style by
lowering the impact of to our environment .In the fields of agricultural, industrial and
environmental needs into water planning as one of the ways to sustain our water. To improve
the efficiency of green economy, sustainable water management will require technological
innovation driving increased efficiency and productivity. Sustainable economic development
can actually balances our eco-system in all the aspect. However, the productivity of economy
items should not come at the cost of the whole natural resources. This is due to the reason
that, we need to make sure that all our resources is enough for the usage of the future
generation.

4.2 Water Conservation

4.2.1 Definition
Water conservation refers to the preservation, control and development of water
resources and prevention of pollution. It is generally defined as "the socially beneficial
reduction of water use or water loss." (Baumann, et al. 1980). This mean that water sources
for future generations depends on how we manage and use it. From other sources, water
conservation stated as strategies and activities to manage and protect water environment as
sustainable sources to ensure availability for future generations.
4.2.1 Concept of water conservation
Water conservation have two main concepts which net social benefit is one of them.
Consequently, water conservation implies that water used is optimized over a medium to long
term time horizon. This mean the resources that we have now is for a long time period but if
we use unwisely the resources will be extinction. This will be lead to extinct the future
generations because they does not have any resources to survive in future. This also can lead
to the unbalanced environment which the resources used exceed its natural replacement rate.
Besides, reducing water use or water loss is the other main concept of conservation. This
implies that more water is used than is needed, attention to water demand is as important as
water supply and water can be used more efficiently. So that, water conservation can manage
easily.
4.2.2 Importance of water conservation
There are several importance of water conservation which to minimize the usage of
resources especially the water because the resources of water on earth are limited and are
reducing every year. Therefore, alternative ways have to be done to conserve the water for the
next future generations. Other than that, statistics around the reveal that the fresh water
supply is practically nonexistent. Preventing the pollution is the one of important of water
conservation so that the resources can be used without being wasted. But, demands for water
always increasing over the years while resources are becoming more and more limited. That
is why important to protect our natural eco-systems because it will be treasure for the next
generation but many individuals are unaware that this issue needs attention. Furthermore, the
increase in water demand is a contribution of various factors including growing population,
increased agricultural needs, industrial use of water and water needed for electricity
production. Water needs are increasing every year and the proven fact is that clean water is
not available to 1 out of 5 people on earth. The increased demand in water combined with the
pollution of water has had many adverse effects on the environment, growth and economy of
many countries.

4.3 Water Consumption

4.3.1 Definition
Water use is classified into in-stream use (hydroelectric power, swimming) and water
withdrawal (household use, industry use). When water is withdrawn without returning back
to the source, consumption is made. The amount of water consumption is equal to the
difference between water intake and water discharge. (Safe Drinking Water Foundation,
2009)
4.3.2 Bare minimum water usages for a typical person
There are certain basic needs of water for the survival of human. These minimal needs
denote the minimum quantities of water required to survive, maintain, and carry on day-today activities at a personal level. (Parkas Tata, 2010)
The bare minimum per person for drinking and sanitation is about 20 litres a day.
However, the water usage per person in highly developed counties with clean water supply is
100 litres per day. (Every Little Drop, 2010)
Table 1.0 Minimum Amount of Water Required Per Person per Day
Level of allocation
Minimum survival
allocation (sustainable for
only a few days)
Medium term allocation
(sustainable for a few
months)

Use
Drinking
Food preparation and clean-up
Drinking
Food preparation and clean-up
Personal hygiene
Laundry

Amount (litres per

person per day)
5-7
3-4
2-3
15 - 20
3-4
2-3
6-7
4-6
(Lars Ribbe, Sept 24,

2013)
4.3.3 Water consumption in Malaysia
The water consumption in Malaysia is very high and increases annually. According to
the findings of a study from New Sunday Times, Malaysians wasted the most water
compared with other consumers in the region. A Malaysian uses an average of 226 litres of
water per day, compared with 155 litres in Singapore and 90 litres in Thailand. (Malaysians
waste a lot of water - Wat-er waste, 2010) Malaysians water consumption per capita per
day increases about 7.6 litres per year. However, Malaysias water reserve per capita per day
is decreasing at a rate of 5.8 litres per year since 2005. The agriculture sector in Malaysia
consumes a lot of water which is 54 trillion litres per year in crop production. As Prof. Chan
Ngai Weng of Universiti Sains Malaysia remarked, If Malaysians can reduce their water

consumption by 10 to 20 %, then the country does not need to build a dam at least for the
next 10 years. (Christopher Teh Boon Sung, 2011)
4.4 The cost for getting the clean water.
As we know, water is a vital need for living things in Earth. However, there are some
people take granted for the availability of water even though the water crisis happened around
the world. Therefore, this issue become a growing political issue around the world. This issue
can be proved since there are 783 million people do not have access to clean water. For
example in sub-Saharan Africa, hundreds of millions of people suffer from a lack access to
clean and safe water.
As the demands for clean water is increasing every day, the societies are challenged to
provide the clean water to the community. So that, there are many societies struggled to
allocate enough this resources to meet the needs of all people world. Insufficient investment
in infrastructures and the increasing of populations have caused over a third of the worlds
people without access to clean water. In order to overcome the problem, a joint program was
made by Indian government, UNICEF and local non-governmental organizations are
supplying clean water to over 550 million Indians with 2.2 million hand pumps. Besides, the
annual cost for this program is $4.00 per person. As the result from this program, India's rural
access to potable water rose from 30% in 1980 to 80% in 1992 which gave positive progress
to the Indians.
However, the international community is still far from achieving the Millennium
Development Goals. For instance, the proportion of people without improved sanitation only
decreased by 8% only over 16 years (between 1990 and 2006). As the estimation made for
the population growth, 2.4 billion people will not get the basic sanitation by 2015. Trough
investment in safe water and access to improved sanitation which costs USD 11.3 billion per
person in a year. This investment helps to achieve the target of the Millennium Development
Goals. This cost is a small price compared to the price for the big project but it can save
millions lives, improved the quality of life and health and some accruing benefits. For every 1
US Dollar invested, there is a projected USD 3-34 benefits gained. Estimation that made by
the Wold Health Organization (WHO) in achieving the target of the Millennium Development
Goals which access to safe water and improved sanitation, it would give an economic benefit
of USD 84.4 billion per year.
The cost for water system is also greatly need high cost as it depends on the
involvement of the people being served. The short-term and long-term sustainability costs
will be lower if there more involvement from the community in this program. Consequently,
the community will receive a large of benefits because it will help the local community to
deal with upcoming problems in the future. The range cost installation water system is less
than $5.00 to $100 per person. In addition, According to Mr Jolly, Chairman of the Water
Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, sponsored by the W.H.O., bringing water and
sanitation to all would cost $10 billion a year. He also said that the cost to protect water
resources is far cheaper than the cost for clean up the pollution.

In conclusion, the clean water is an essential ingredient to economic growth and

development and investing in water and sanitation has high economic and social returns.

5.0 Methodology
In order to obtain the data for further analysis to complete our objectives, a few strategies
have been planned:
5.1 Obtain a letter of permission from lecturer.
The letter allows our access to the information of water bill in Pejabat Harta Bina.

5.2 Approach the person-in-charge in Pejabat Harta Bina.

We will ask the permission of Pejabat Harta Bina to collect data from the water bill of KTHO
for 3 months.
We will ask for the plan of KTHOs water piping system.
This is essential to calculate the average water usage per day in KTHO.

5.3 Approach the person-in-charge in Pejabat KTHO.

We will get the population of KTHO from the office.
This is essential to calculate the average water usage per person per day in KTHO.
If the water meter is shared among KTHO and other colleges, this is used to calculate the
average water usage per day of KTHO students.

5.4 Collect data from households water bill of different states.

This is to estimate the average water consumption per person per day in Malaysia.
The data will be compared with the results from KTHO.

5.5 Questionnaire
A survey through questionnaire will be carried out among the students of KTHO to know
their water usage pattern.
60 copies of the questionnaire will be equally distributed to male and female KTHO students.
This method is chosen because it is easier to distribute and saves time.

6.0 Results, Analysis and Discussion

6.1 Benchmarking
Benchmarking is a point of reference from which measurements maybe made. Benchmark is
something that serves as a standard by which others may be measured or judged. It is a
standardized problem or test that serves as a basis for evaluation or comparison. In the
process of benchmarking, management identifies the best firms in their country, or in another
country where similar processes exist, and compare the results and processes of those studied
to ones own results and processes. The objectives of benchmarking are to determine what
and where to improve, to analyse how to achieve higher performance level and use this
information to improve performance.

6.1.1 Water consumption in Malaysia

Total water consumption for a person per day is about 351 000 litre which higher than
Australia and South Africa. This prove that Malaysia has highest water consumption rate in
Southeast Asia although the population of Malaysian is half of population of South Africa.
This shows that Malaysia does not have awareness about to use the water efficiently and
properly.
6.1.2 Water consumption in Australia
The total population in Australia is higher than Malaysia which is about 18 436 peoples but
they can manage the water usage better than Malaysia. This is because Australia is the driest
inhabited continent on Earth.
6.1.3 Water consumption in USA
The total water consumption for a person per day is the highest among the three country. The
water is mainly consume for the purpose of industrial product.
6.1.4 Water consumption in South Africa
Both South Africa and Australia have the same residential water consumption per person per
day even though the population of South Africa are the highest. They have limited resource
for clean water and the water is not safe for drinking.

7.0 Conclusion
Based on the literature review, we have learnt more about the sustainability of water
and the importance of sustainable water development to our future generations in order to
understand the problem more. In conclusion, sustainability is quoted as a part of sustainable
development which means development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In addition,
sustainability can be differentiated into 3 pillars: economy, social, and environment.
We have planned our strategy to investigate the water consumption and water usage
pattern of students in KTHO. The water bill and KTHO population are essential to calculate
the average water consumption per person per day whereas the water metre can show us the
water usage pattern of KTHO based on the water supply.
Benchmarking is done between Malaysia and three different countries: South Africa,
Australia and USA. USA has the highest average water consumption per person per day
whereas South Africa consumes the least water. We chose South Africa because it lacks of
safe drinking water compared to Malaysia. USA was chosen because its water consumption is
the highest in the world and with high living standards. Lastly, we chose Australia to
investigate the water consumption of the driest inhabited continent in the world that still
wasted half of its water supplied.
The bare minimum water usage for a typical person is found through literature review
which is 20 litres per person per day. These minimal needs denote the minimum quantities of
water required to survive, maintain, and carry on day-to-day activities at a personal level.
However, this information shows that Malaysians consume more water than they need
because the water consumption in Malaysia is 226 litres per person per day.

Appendix
Gantt Chart

Gantt Chart (WASCAM part 1)

25-Sep
29-Sep
3-Oct
7-Oct
11-Oct
15-Oct
27-Sep
1-Oct
5-Oct
9-Oct
13-Oct
17-Oct
Individual PR and PI
Team PR and PI
Individual Peer Teaching
Team Peer Teaching
Plan strategies
Write report
Presentation slides
Practice for presentation
Presentation
Peer rating form

References
Prakasam Tata, Ph.D., QEP (2010).Introduction. Basic Needs and Minimal Requirements of
Water for People 1.
Retrieved from https://cis.uchicago.edu/outreach/summerinstitute/2010/documents/sti2010tata-basic-water-needs
Lars Ribbe. (2013, Sept 24). Water, Food and Energy security in Shared River Systems. Paper
presented at the Case study Eastern Nile Basin for 8th Conference on Sustainable
Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems, Cologne University of Applied
Science. Retrieved from http://www.dubrovnik2013.sdewes.org/presentations/SDEWES2013-1072
Every Little Drop. (2010). How Much Water Does A Person Need?
Retrieved from http://everylittledrop.com.au/knowledge-center/how-much-water-does-aperson-need/
Safe Drinking Water Foundation. (2009). Water Consumption.
Retrieved from http://www.safewater.org/PDFS/resourcesknowthefacts/WaterConsumption
Administrator. (2010, October 8). Malaysians waste a lot of water - Wat-er waste. New Straits
Time. Retrieved from http://www.fomca.org.my/v2/index.php/fomca-di-pentas-media/fomcadi-pentas-media-2010/318-malaysians-waste-a-lot-of-water-wat-er-waste
Christopher Teh Boon Sung. (2011, September 30). Water consumption and crop water use in
Malaysia. Retrieved from http://christopherteh.com/blog/2011/09/cropwateruse/
Administrator. (2013). What is Sustainable Development? Environmental, economic and
social well-being for today and tomorrow. Retrieved from https://www.iisd.org/sd/
Administrator. (2014). Sustainable Development. Retrieved from
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/

John Csiszar. (2010). The Importance of Saving Water. Retrieved from

http://www.livestrong.com/article/147766-the-importance-of-saving-water/
Carly Zinderman. (2014). Reasons to Protect and Conserve Water Resources.
Retrieved from http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/reasons-protect-conserve-water-resources