Water

Water resources at HKUST come from two main sources: portable water and seawater. Portable water is clean and drinkable. It is supplied by the Hong Kong Water Supplies Department and is used for cooking, cleaning, showers, and drinking. On the other hand, our toilets use seawater from the Clear Water Bay. Using seawater for toilets helps conserve the precious fresh water we need for all other uses. Rainwater reuse is adopted in the Jockey Club Global Graduate Tower for irrigation and cooling tower bleed-off at the library is reused for flushing. In 2023-24, total potable water consumption reached 463,486 cubic meters (m3), or 463 million liters, which is equivalent to 203 Olympic sized swimming pools. It decreased by around 1% compared to 2022-23 and decreased by around 10% compared to the base year (2014-2015).

 The Main Academic Building, Student Housing, Canteens & Commercial Outlets accounted for 35%, 21%, and 21% of total potable water consumption respectively in 2023-24.

Water Consumption 2023-24

TOTAL = 463,486 CUBIC METER