The Archbishop Seminary in Rabat will now be saving an estimated 1,475 litres of water per day thanks to the completion of a new innovative Hippo project, sponsored by HSBC Water Programme - Catch the Drop.
Hippo water-saving technique is a simple and low cost measure to reduce the consumption of water. Once installed in the cistern system inside a restroom, Hippo bags save approximately three litres of water each time a system is flushed. The 1,475 litres of water saving was calculated on the assumption that every student and teacher at the Seminary will flush the system once a day.
The HSBC support led to the retrofitting of all facilities at the Seminary with Hippo bags. All secondary students also received household packs to further implement the project at homes and to become lifelong water conservation advocates.
The project came to realisation after HSBC Water Programme - Catch the Drop selected the Seminary's proposal for funding under its Outreach Programme for 2013-14 scholastic year, under which schools vied for funding from HSBC to implement groundbreaking ideas in water conservation.
The Outreach Programme for scholastic year 2014-15 was expanded to also include local councils.
HSBC is carrying forward the mission of raising awareness about water conservation by steering a range of activities through a World Water Day Week, beginning 17th March 2015. The World Water Day is celebrated on Sunday 22nd March.
The weeklong campaign gets underway on 17th March 2015, with the inauguration of an art exhibition by the President of Malta at President's Palace. On 18th March 2015, students from Marsa Primary will hold a walkabout around their school. On the 20th March, various schools will participate in a walkabout in Valletta. This will be followed by a water themed show as well as the announcement of the Malta winners of the Outreach Programme for 2014-15 scholastic year. Later on, a conference on water conservation on the same day will mark the end of the weeklong campaign.