Water conservation in hospitals

1. Water Conservation in Hospitals
Water is one of the most important natural resource whose scarcity can impact everyday life.
Though water is a necessity for every sector but big commercial and institutional sector,
especially healthcare facilities, consume its major supply. Depending upon the type, size and
location of hospital, water is used for various tasks including sterile processing, food services,
boilers/chillers, radiology, lab, drinking water supply, irrigation, toilets, sinks etc. All these not
only require water but also require adequate management of waste water. In the past few
years, there has been a constant rise in the cost of water and waste management services in
the healthcare facilities. Moreover, this cost is expected to rise more with every year, forcing
the healthcare facilities to take adequate steps and focus on water conservation.
As the need for water is huge in healthcare facilities, the efforts to save it should also be huge
to make a difference. There have been great efforts by some very well-known hospitals
worldwide to reduce the consumption of water and halt its wastage. By reducing use of water,
these hospitals have not only made major financial savings with reduced bills but have also
reduced energy consumption.
Here we discuss some of the successful steps adopted by hospitals to reduce water usage by as
much as 30 % that has eventually led to 25-35 % return on investment (ROI):
 Water audit: Audits are conducted in most of the divisions in a hospital, but rarely for
water usage. So first and foremost, there must be a program to audit the current trends
in usage, leakage and management of water in the hospital. Also, every area that uses
water must be reviewed to find solutions to reduce the water usage and fix plumbing
issues. The audit in the end must identify problems (leaks, drips, unnecessary flow etc.),
changes required to fix the problem (better cleaning, kitchen and laundry practices) and
replace the equipments (like new toilets, boilers, chillers etc.) to improve the process.
 Budgeting: After auditing the water usage process and finding the solutions, an
estimated cost of opportunities and potential return on its implementation is required.
This gives a fair idea about the potential benefits of the water conservation drive.
 Develop a phased plan: To achieve dramatic savings, most important is to follow a
systematic approach and develop a phase wise plan that suits the budget and can give
the desired outcomes.
 Seek funding: As water conservation is the need of the hour, authorities are willing to
fund a well-planned program to reduce water consumption and save this vital resource.
So, funding is the right way to put the plan on track without hitting the hospital budget
in any way.
 Implement & document plan: All done, the final step is to exhaustively implement the
plan and spread awareness among the staff as well as patients and visitors to reduce
water consumption through every means. Also, it is important to document each step
and measure success to take plan to the next phase or make necessary changes, as
required.

2. The water conservation process can be undertaken internally or a specialized third party can be
engaged who have the real time information and steps to ascertain the success of water
conservation plan.
Preserve the nature by preserving the natural resources.