Solutions are ready now to chop water charges
June 24, 2009 by Tom GuayPosted in: Cost Cutting, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, News, Technology
How can you resist a chance to chop water usage in half by adopting existing technologies?
When it comes to water conservation, there are plenty of tools that commercial, industrial and institutional operations are using today to conserve water resources and keep money in their checkbooks.
The various ways you can do this are detailed in a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The environmental group’s original goal when researching water conservation options was to deal with the effects of an ongoing drought in California.
But NRDC researchers quickly realized that companies ended up saving a lot of money — 25% to 50% — by investing in water reduction techniques, from installing high-efficiency toilets and fixtures to recycling wastewater on site.
Those that can take advantage include office buildings, hotels, oil refineries, golf courses, schools, universities, restaurants and manufacturers. Case studies reviewed by NRDC reveal that:
- commercial kitchens save up to $1,050 a year on energy and water bills by installing water-efficient dishwashers
- hotels that switch to water-efficient washing machines cut water usage by 38%
- smart irrigation systems reduce water needed for landscaping at office parks, business centers, schools and other non-industrial operations by 40% to 50%
- low-flow shower heads reduce water usage at hotels by 15%
- water meters and improved leak detection helped Fetzer Vineyard cut its annual water use by 24%
- on-site water treatment helped Intel cut water usage by 75% at its semiconductor plant in Arizona, and
- irrigating with recycled water and using drought-tolerant grasses saved the Desert Willow Golf Course $84,000 a year.
The report, Making Every Drop Work: Increasing Water Efficiency in California’s Commercial, Industrial and Institutional (CII) Sector, details how existing technology cuts water usage, saves money and conserves water resources. And these case studies reveal that these technologies can be used wherever water resources are dwindling as population expands.
Why aren’t more companies on the water conservation bandwagon? It takes work to line up the funding for conservation investments and to identify which rebate programs will work for an individual company. The low cost of subsidized water also makes it difficult for users to make the numbers work.
The NRDC press release is here.
The full report is here.
Tags: Desert Willow Golf Course, Fetzer Vineyard, NRDC, water conservation
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July 2nd, 2009 at 2:16 pm
The funny thing is when many municipalities cut water usage they have to raise water fees to cover the shortfall.
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:43 am
Excellent venue! We’re plumbing contractors who specialize in water conservation and water treatment. We have lots of innovation in house when it comes to pampering our valuable water resources. Maybe we could submit some articles? Thanks for your good work.
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:50 am
It started raining outside as I started writing this! My catchment tank is tinkling like a music box outside the back door. Good signs!
July 31st, 2009 at 4:54 am
In Greenville SC, if you work hard to conserve water at home they still charge you for a minimum. If you are retired and don’t use a lot of water anyway, and use even less you still get to pay for minum useage. Then you get to pay sewerage fee’s for every gallon, even in the garden and for the grass, at a higher rate than for the water…………go figure
August 6th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Brilliant. Everyone should participate in this. It’s good for the environment, good for the water table and easier on the wallet. As far as water bills go.
I like Chuck’s way of thinking. Gotta protect that fragile resource, fresh water. Hoping to have my tank up and plumbed by winter. Good job Chuck.
Things we’ve done, on a residential scale, is installed low-flow heads and aerators, bricks in the toilets and installed a water heater timer. Next up is soakers for the landscape’s watering needs.