2. Water
Sustainability in water focuses on:
- attention to physical, chemical, engineering, and infrastructure issues;
- concern for surface- and groundwater quality and availability;
- water and land use; and
- physical, chemical, and ecological characteristics in wetlands, watersheds, and habitats.
According to the national Advisory Committee on Water Information, "This great variety of water-resources must be related not only to other environmental and natural resources, but also to all the aspects of our national economy and culture."
CUNY believes that measures to reduce the consumption of water, limit the production of waste water, and reuse "gray" water for nonpotable purposes will lessen the burden on the city's water supply and water treatment facilities.
Brooklyn College is addressing these issues by researching ways to:
- reduce water overuse,
- reduce the volume of discharged effluent,
- decrease use of bottled water and increase use of water fountains,
- lessen our carbon impact, and
- decrease the burden placed on New York's sewer system.