Charles Sturt University won gold for the extensive water conservation systems and ecological management on the University's Thurgoona Campus.

NSW Minister for Land and water Conservation, Richard Amery presented the RiverCare 2000 Gold Award to CSU in the tertiary education category in Sydney last Friday 22 October.

Mr Amery congratulated CSU for its brilliant work at Thurgoona (near Albury), which sought to minimise water pollution; recycle water wherever possible; reduce demand for mains water; and encourage use of the site for research and tertiary education.

Thurgoona's water management system has already won an award this year from the NSW branch of the Australian Wastewater and Water Association and a RiverCare 2000 silver award in 1996.

The judging panel for the Award were impressed with the construction of watercourses to collect and treat storm water and artificial wetlands to treat and re-use water from kitchen and showers to irrigate the grounds around the campus (see the Thurgoona website for details).

Campus buildings incorporate dry composting toilets, which use no water. The former farmland surrounding the buildings have been extensively sown with plants native to the Murray Basin, which also require little water.

The water management system is an integral part of the environmentally sensitive plan for the Thurgoona campus, which was first put in place in 1995.

To date, five rammed earth buildings, including a two storey office building for the School of Environmental and Information Sciences, have been completed. A major teaching complex, which includes a 200-seat lecture theatre complete with cooling provided by internal waterfalls, and student cottages are due for occupation by February 2000.

The annual RiverCare 2000 awards recognise major achievements by the community dedicated to enhancing water quality and rivers across NSW.