The Aquarius

Environmental hero with a focus on good quality groundwater

The National Property Board Sweden (SFV) constantly works to improve the operation of our properties. Together, everyone at SFV, property managers, operations technicians, project managers, administrative personnel and specialists, assists in reaching our goal:

• Decreased water usage in foreign districts where there is usually a lack of accessibility to water.

Sustainable systems last longer

SFV owns and manages many properties outside Sweden where there are water shortages and where good quality groundwater is not readily accessible. The methods that we work with can be, for example, utilising rainwater, watering at night, and installing water-saving toilets and mixing faucets. Everyone who contributes to providing conditions for economising with water is an environmental hero. Several examples of efforts that have been carried out are presented below.

Water-savings in Gaborone, Botswana

The property in Gaborone where Sweden previously had its embassy residence, is now leased by the Swedish Trade Council. The property has a relatively large garden, which needs to be watered since the dry season lasts for eight months in that part of Africa. An automatic watering system, which optimises watering, is now installed. Despite this, large amounts of tap water are required. Therefore, as of three years ago, SFV purchases purified wastewater from the city to use for watering the garden. The investment to be able to use this water, which is not usable for other purposes, has only consisted of one water tank and one pump. The cost for purified wastewater is approximately one-third of the cost for tap water.

Water-savings in Beijing, China

Several years ago, the embassy in Beijing had a very high level of water usage. When SFV installed an automatic watering system that was controlled by the weather, water usage was cut in half. Watering is done at night when evaporation is least. Since the system has a rain sensor, no watering is carried out if it has rained recently. The garden also has so-called root watering. Perforated water hoses have been placed in the ground at the root level of trees so that the watering will have the maximum effect with minimal water usage. This method is best adapted to newly planted trees, which get a chance to root and grow quickly.

Actions in Brasilia, Brazil

In 2000, SFV installed an automatic watering system that waters at night at the Swedish Embassy facilities in Brasilia. The cost for watering the large garden has been cut in half.

Actions in New Delhi

In India, the water issue is always at the forefront. Normally, there are major shortages of water in the embassy area in New Delhi, which has a very large garden that has to be tended and watered. In addition, 150 people live at the embassy. An automatic watering system, which waters at night, has been installed. Through this, water usage has been substantially reduced but more actions are needed. In an ongoing project at the embassy area, the land will be formed in a new way so that rainwater does not run off, but is utilised in the garden and then carried back to the groundwater. To limit the use of water in the buildings, the possibility to install HWR (hot water recirculation) for hot tap water is being investigated. Currently, you have to run the water for several minutes before you get hot water in the tap, which means that a lot of water is wasted unnecessarily. With HWR the hot water comes out immediately.

Desert plants at Windhoek in Namibia

Windhoek in Namibia was previously owned and managed by SFV. In this part of Africa, the rainy winter season lasts four months. The rest of the year is dry. Having a garden with traditional plants requires an enormous amount of water. Therefore, a garden has been planted using desert plants that adapt naturally to the seasons. The plants have been planted in airy and sandy soil with a protective layer of gravel and are able to survive without being watered.