Water conservation

Water Conservation 1/66 © Copyright Training 4 Today 2001 Published by EnviroWin Software LLC
WELCOME
WATER CONSERVATION
CUSTOMIZED
ENVIRONMENTAL
TRAINING

INSTRUCTOR
Insert Instructor Name Here

 Discuss the Need for Water Conservation.
 Discuss the Need for Monitoring, Submetering, and Leak
Detection.
 Explain How Water Pressure Relates to Water Conservation.
 Discuss Water Recycling and Water Reuse.
 Discuss Cooling Water Conservation.
 Discuss Industrial Water Conservation Measures.
 Discuss Bathroom Water Conservation Measures.
 Discuss Xeriscape Landscaping.
 Discuss Water Conservation Education and Employee
Participation.
OBJECTIVES

GOALS
 Understand the Need for Water Conservation.
 Understand the Need for Monitoring, Submetering, and Leak
Detection.
 Be Familiar With How Water Pressure Relates to Water
Conservation.
 Understand the Principles of Water Recycling and Water Reuse.
 Be Familiar With Cooling Water Conservation.
 Be Familiar With Industrial Water Conservation Measures.
 Understand Bathroom Water Conservation Measures.
 Understand the Basic Principles of Xeriscape Landscaping.
 Understand the Importance of Water Conservation Education and
Employee Participation.

BACKGROUND
 Drought costs ranchers and farmers an estimated $6-8
billion a year, more than damages caused by floods or
hurricanes.
 The Dust Bowl Drought from 1931-1938 affected 50
million acres of land and left thousands of farmers
homeless.
 In 1999 drought caused 1,695 counties in 44 states to
be declared agricultural disaster areas.

 Supervisors
 Facility Engineers
 Maintenance Personnel
 Department Managers
 Building Occupants
 Process Specialists
 Environmental and Safety Committees
LEARNERS

OVERVIEW
The goal of this course is to provide supervisors
with the tools needed to help conserve water. It
recommends practical, actions that can be carried
out by facility management, maintenance personnel
and building occupants. The course will help you to
integrate good water conservation management
activities into your existing organization and identify
which of your staff have the necessary skills to carry
out those activities.

WHAT THIS COURSE DOES NOT DO
The course is not intended to provide information to
install, repair, or modify plumbing equipment, nor is
it intended to teach personnel to become landscape
architects. These specialties required training
beyond the intended scope of this course. Where
this expertise is needed, outside assistance should
be solicited.

SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT
 The Safe Drinking Water Act, Section
1455, as amended in 1996, requires the
United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to publish guidelines for use
by water utilities in preparing a water
conservation plan.
 States are to administer water
conservation programs and to enact state
regulations to conform to these guidelines.

WHAT IS A DROUGHT?
The National Weather Service defines
a drought as “a period of abnormally
dry weather that persists long enough
to produce a serious hydrologic
imbalance (for example crop damage,
water supply shortage, etc.) The
severity of the drought depends upon
the degree of moisture deficiency, the
duration and the size of the affected
area.”

WHY CONSERVE WATER?
1. It is a resource that is a benefit to everyone.
2. To save money. Lower consumption means lower water
bills.
3. To keep rates low. Maximizing current water supplies
helps defer the need to develop new, more expensive
sources of water.
4. To prepare for a drought. Many areas of the country
have experienced drought conditions in the past few years.
Water conservation helps prepare for these worst of times.
5. To comply with regulations. Many states and local
regulators have established efficient water use regulations.

TWO TYPES OF PRACTICES
1. Engineering practices:
practices based on
modifications in
plumbing, fixtures, or
water supply operating
procedures.
2. Behavioral practices:
practices based on
changing water use
habits.

MONITORING
 Provides baseline information on quantities of overall
company water use, the seasonal and hourly patterns of
water use, and the quantities and quality of water use in
individual processes.
 Baseline information on water use can be used to set
company goals and to develop specific water use
efficiency measures.
 Monitoring also raises employee awareness.
 Records of meter readings can be used to identify
changes in water use rates and possible problems in a
system.

SUBMETERING
 The practice of placing water meters throughout a
facility is called submetering.
 Submetering helps account for water usage and can
help in the process of leak detection.
 Areas to consider submetering are landscaped areas,
cafeterias, laundries, and major industrial equipment
that use water.
 Submetering makes water users more aware of how
much water they use and its cost.
 By placing meters and monitoring those meters
throughout a facility, experts estimate that a facility can
help reduce water usage by 20 to 40 percent.

METER ACCURACY
 Water meters can be damaged and
deteriorate with age, thus producing
inaccurate readings.
 All meters, especially older meters,
should be tested for accuracy on a
regular basis.
 Meters that are used to measure
large volumes of water may be too
large for a customer's level of use and
will tend to under-register water use.
 A Meter testing, calibration, repair,
and replacement program needs to be
established.

LEAK DETECTION
 Repairing leaks saves money on water
bills. The early detection of leaks also
reduces the chances that leaks will cause
major property damage.
 A leak detection strategy needs to
employ regular on-site testing methods for
detecting leaks along water distribution
mains, valves, services, and meters.
 Leak detection programs are especially
important in facilities that have large, old,
deteriorating systems.

LEAK DETECTION
 Automated sensors/telemetry.
Remote sensors and monitoring
software can alert personnel to leaks,
fluctuations in pressure, problems with
equipment integrity, and other concerns.
 Visual inspection program. This
may include pipe inspection, cleaning,
lining, and other maintenance efforts to
improve the distribution system and
prevent leaks and ruptures from
occurring.

WATER AUDITS
 Audits of large-volume users. Begin by
identifying the categories of water use for the
large-volume user. These may include
process, sanitary, domestic, heating,
cooling, outdoor, and other water uses.
Second, a water audit should identify areas
in which overall water use efficiency can be
improved through alternative technologies or
practices.
 Large-landscape audits.
 Effective audit programs can save 10 to
20 percent for both general industrial water
usage and for large landscape water audits.

REDUCING WATER PRESSURE
 Reducing excessive pressures in the
water distribution system can save a
significant quantity of water.
 Reducing water pressure can decrease
leakage, the amount of flow through open
faucets, and stresses on pipes and joints
that may result in leaks. Lower water
pressure may also decrease system
deterioration, reducing the need for repairs
and extending the life of existing facilities.
 Lower pressures can help reduce wear
on end-use fixtures and appliances.

REDUCING WATER PRESSURE
Pressure-reducing valves.
 Can be installed on street
mains, as well as individual
buildings.
 Companies might also insert
flow restrictors on services at the
meter.
 Seek technical assistance from
your water provider on pressure-
reducing valves.

WATER RECYCLING
 Water recycling is the reuse of water
for the same application for which it was
originally used.
 Factors that should be considered in
a water recycling program include:
- Identification of water reuse
opportunities
- Evaluation of the minimum water
quality needed for a particular use
- Evaluation of water quality
degradation resulting from the use
- Determination of the treatment
steps.

WATER REUSE
 Water reuse is the use of wastewater or
reclaimed water (sometimes called “graywater”)
from one application for another application.
 Some potential applications include other
industrial uses in cooling water at power plants
and oil refineries or industrial process water for
such facilities as paper mills and carpet dyers,
toilet flushing, dust control, construction
activities, concrete mixing, and artificial lakes.
 Reused water can also be used in landscape
irrigation, agricultural irrigation, aesthetic uses
such as fountains, and fire protection.

WATER REUSE
Factors that should be considered in an
industrial water reuse program include:
 Identification of water reuse opportunities
 Determination of the minimum water
quality needed for the given use
 Identification of wastewater sources that
satisfy the water quality requirements
 Determination of how the water can be
transported to the new use

COOLING WATER
RECIRCULATION
 The use of water for cooling in industrial applications
represents one of the largest water uses in the United
States.
 The most water-intensive cooling method used in
industrial applications is once-through cooling, in which
water contacts and lowers the temperature of a heat
source and then is discharged.
 Recycling water with a recirculating cooling system
can greatly reduce water use by using the same water
to perform several cooling operations.
 Three cooling water conservation approaches that
can be used to reduce water use are evaporative
cooling, ozonation, and air heat exchange.

EVAPORATION COOLERS
 The principal use of water by
evaporative coolers is to increase the
humidity of incoming air being drawn
into a building and decrease its
temperature. The building’s air cools as
it absorbs the moisture.
 Evaporative coolers require an
annual maintenance check-up for the
most efficient cooling.

OZONATION
The use of ozone to treat cooling tower water (ozonation):
 Can result in a 99% reduction in the appearance of
bacteria. And personnel no longer have to handle chlorine,
bromine, phosphates, and other chemicals. It helps keep
the metal surfaces of pipes and equipment clean, making
equipment more energy efficient.
 Controls corrosion by producing a protective coating on
metal surfaces, extending equipment life.
 Acts as a strong disinfectant. Can use lower amounts of
high-quality water and it reduces cooling tower blowdown
water consumption by 50 to 90%.

AIR HEAT EXCHANGE
 Air heat exchange works on the same principle as a
car's radiator. In an air heat exchanger, a fan blows air
past finned tubes carrying the recirculating cooling
water.
 Air heat exchangers involve no water loss, but they
can be relatively expensive when compared with cooling
towers.
 Air heat exchangers can be more reliable and more
productive than water cooling.

ONCE-THROUGH COOLING
 Many facilities have one or more pieces of equipment
cooled by a single-pass flow of water. After passing
through and cooling the equipment, the water is usually
discarded to a sanitary sewer system.
 Equipment that might use a once-through cooling
system include degreasers, rectifiers, hydraulic
equipment, x-ray machines, condensers, and viscosity
baths. Also air conditioners, air compressors, hydraulic
presses, welders and vacuum pumps.

ONCE-THROUGH COOLING
Alternatives for more efficient ways of cooling include:
 Air heat exchange
 Closed-loop recycled water.
 Use the pass-through water for landscape irrigation or
other graywater uses.

METAL FINISHING
 Platers and finishers, printed circuit board operators,
fabricators, integrated circuit metal fabricators and other
facilities use numerous process rinses and reaction
baths. Water is essential in the manufacturing process
for these facilities.
 There are several water conserving methods that
manufacturers should consider including: Flow
Monitoring and Control, First Stage Static Tanks,
Counterflow Rinsing, Spray Rinsing, Membrane
Technologies, Ion Exchange and Electrolyte Recovery.

METAL FINISHING
Flow Monitoring and Control
 Flow meters and manually-operated valves are
relatively simple to operate and low in cost to install.
Require operator attentiveness and knowledge of
allowable rinse tank concentrations.
 Automatic control of rinsewater flows is possible
using conductivity control or measurements of total
dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations in rinses to
control electrically operated valves.

METAL FINISHING
First Stage Static Tank
 For multi-tank rinsing, the first tank may be a “static”
rinse tank rather than a continuous overflow tank.
 Water conservation is achieved by a high percentage
of the drag-out is discharged into this first rinse tank.
 The first rinse tank can be allowed to become more
concentrated than the rinses that follow it. Less water is
used to periodically dump and refill the tank than for
continuous overflow dilution.

METAL FINISHING
Counterflow Rinsing.

METAL FINISHING
Spray Rinsing
 Spray rinse systems may offer significant rinse water
savings. As much as 60% reduction has been claimed
by such systems when compared to immersion tanks.
 Spray rinsing should be combined with an automatic
spray system that will reduce the chance of operator
error.

METAL FINISHING
Membrane Technologies
 There are at least four different types of membrane
technologies that include Microfiltration, Ultrafiltration,
Reverse Osmosis and Electrodialysis.
 Generally, membrane technology is easy to maintain
and operate.
 Pressure is applied to the feed side of the membrane
which causes water and some selected solids to pass
through.

METAL FINISHING
Ion Exchange
 Ion exchange is another common method and it
involves the use of deionized water for removing
contaminants from products and equipment.
 Deionized water contains no ions (such as salts),
which tend to corrode or deposit onto metals.
 The reuse of once-used deionized water for a
different application should also be considered.

METAL FINISHING
Electrolytic Recovery
This process removes metal ions from solution,
oxidizes cyanide, and reduces chromium in
wastewaters. Metal ions are reduced at a cathode
while oxygen evolves at an anode.
This method conserves water by keeping a low
metals concentration in the drag-out recovery tank,
minimizing drag-out to the the rinse tank(s). This
method is effective with copper, tin, silver, and other
metals.

CAFETERIAS AND
RESTAURANTS
 Use water in garbage disposer only during
operation.
 If thawing foods in cold running water, change
to thawing under refrigeration, in a microwave, or
in the cooking process.
 “Double Dip” to clean large volumes of produce.
 Replace "once through" water cooled ice
machines and refrigeration condensers with air
cooled machines.
 Limit dishwashing to full loads. Turn off the
continuous flow used to clean the drain trays of
the coffee/milk/soda beverage island.

LAUNDRIES
 Reprogram machines to eliminate a
rinse or suds cycle, if possible, and not
restricted by health regulations.
 Reduce water levels, where possible,
to minimize water required per load of
washing.
 Wash full loads only.
 Evaluate wash formula and machine
cycles for water use efficiency.
 When purchasing new machines, buy
water-saving models.

HOSPITALS AND CLINICS
 Turn off water required for film processing or
cooling in the X-ray department when not in use.
 Recycle water where feasible, consistent with
state and county requirements.
 Use full loads in sanitizer, sterilizer, dishwasher,
and washing machines.
 Overhaul faulty steam traps on sterilizers.
 Replace equipment with water-saving models.
 Reduce the load on air conditioning units by
shutting off air conditioning when and where it is not
needed.
 Recover condensate and use it as make-up water.

CLOSED-LOOP VEHICLE
WASHERS
Closed Loop Vehicle Washers
 The closed loop vehicle washers are facilities that
completely recycle the wash water used in cleaning
cars, trucks, etc.
 Wash water will go through three different treatment
units before being recycled for reuse.
 The alpha treatment unit is an oil/water separator.
 The beta treatment unit removes fine dirt particles
and any remaining hydrocarbons.
 The omega treatment adds ozone to the water before
reuse.

BATHROOM WATER
To calculate the savings from a retrofit program,
planners are required to make a number of assumptions
about water use and savings. Some of the assumptions
used in retrofitting are:
 Toilets (4-6 flushes per person per day)
 Showerheads (5-15 shower-use minutes per person
per day)
 Bathroom Faucets (1/2 to 3 faucet-use minutes per
person per day)

LOW-FLUSH TOILETS
 More than 4.8 billion gallons of water is flushed down
toilets each day in the United States.
 The average American uses about 9,000 gallons of
water to flush 230 gallons of waste down the toilet per
year.
 Conventional toilets use 3.5 to 5 gallons or more of
water per flush, but low-flush toilets use only 1.6 gallons
of water or less.
 Effective January 1, 1994, the Energy Policy Act of
1992 (Public Law 102-486) requires that all new toilets
produced for home use must operate on 1.6 gallons per
flush or less.

TOILET DISPLACEMENT DEVICES
 By placing a one gallon milk jug in the
tank of an older toilet, you can save one
gallon of water per flush.
 Do not use bricks or stones because
they can break up and cause damage to
the plumbing.
 A toilet dam, which holds back a
reservoir of water when the toilet is flushed,
can also be used instead of a plastic
container to save water. Toilet dams result
in a savings of 1 to 2 gallons of water per
flush.

LOW-FLOW SHOWERHEADS
 Showers account for about 20
percent of total indoor non-
industrial water use.
 By replacing standard 4.5-
gallon-per-minute showerheads
with 2.5-gallon-per-minute heads,
which cost less than $5 each, one
study found that shower water use
was reduced over 34% with low
flow showerheads.

FAUCETS
 Faucet aerators can be easily
installed and can reduce the water
use at a faucet by as much as 60
percent while still maintaining a strong
flow.
 Other options to consider are
metered faucets (which stay open for
a pre-set period of time and then
close), self-closing faucets (which
close as soon as you let go of the
knob) and automatic sensor
controlled faucets.

RAIN WATER HARVESTING
 Rain Water Harvesting is capturing and storing
rainfall to irrigate plants or to supply people and
animals.
 A well-designed system will also decrease your
landscape maintenance needs.
 All you need for a water harvesting system is rain,
and a place to put it.
 A "catchment" is any large surface that can capture
and/or carry water to where it can be used immediately
or stored.

RAIN WATER HARVESTING
 A water surplus available at the right time of year
makes storage well worth the time and effort. A surplus
becomes impractical when it must be stored for more
than several months.
 Water stored for long periods of time will stagnate
and become a health hazard.
 You can store water in a variety of ways: 55-gallon
steel drums, oak barrels or underground storage tanks.
 Regular maintenance is critical to any dependable
water harvesting system.

XERISCAPE LANDSCAPE
Businesses can save water in landscaping by using the
principles of Xeriscape™, an efficiency-oriented
approach to landscaping that encompasses seven
essential principles:
 Planning and design
 Limited turf areas
 Efficient irrigation
 Soil improvement
 Mulching
 Use of lower water demand plants
 Appropriate maintenance

XERISCAPE LANDSCAPE
Planning and design
 Sketch your landscape with locations of existing
structures, trees, shrubs and grass areas. Then
consider the landscape budget, appearance, function,
maintenance and water requirements.
 "Right Plant, Right Place": Select plants appropriately
based upon their adaptability to climate, micro-climate,
geological, and topographical conditions of the site.
 Protect and preserve native species.
 Use only ornamental fountains that incorporate water
recirculation should be installed and operated.

XERISCAPE LANDSCAPE
Limited turf areas
 When considering a landscape's water requirement, it
is important to note that turf grasses require more
frequent watering and maintenance than most other
landscape plants.
 When at all possible, minimize turf and other high
water use, ornamental plants sparingly and only where
necessary (such as sports fields, recreation areas and
site entries).
 Avoid placing turf in long narrow areas and small
odd-shaped areas.

XERISCAPE LANDSCAPE
Efficient Irrigation
 Hydrozones: Separate the landscape area plants with
similar water needs in a similar microclimate.
 Provide water budget statement estimation.
 Design irrigation systems to avoid runoff.
 Incorporate electronic controllers with precise
individual timing.
 Utilize irrigation-only meters (deduct meters).
 Use drip or other low volume irrigation whenever
possible.

XERISCAPE LANDSCAPE
Soil improvement
•To increase plant health and conserve water, analyze
your soil. If needed, add organic matter to the soil of
shrub and flower bed areas. This increases the soil's
ability to absorb and store water in a form available to
the plant. As a rule-of-thumb, till in 4 to 6 inches of
organic material such as shredded pine bark, peat and
rice hulls. For trees, however, incorporating organic
matter is not necessary; for large turf grass areas, it is
not economically feasible.

XERISCAPE LANDSCAPE
Mulching
 Mulch is a layer of nonliving material covering the soil
surface around plants.
 Mulches can be organic or inorganic materials.
 Use a mulch at least once a year.
 A good mulch conserves water by significantly
reducing moisture evaporation from the soil.
 Mulch also reduces weed populations, prevents soil
compaction and keeps soil temperatures moderate.

XERISCAPE LANDSCAPE
Use of lower water demand plants
 Utilize native plants that are drought
resistant first in your landscaping.
 Utilize non-native plants only if they
are drought resistant. Consult your
local nursery for the best selection of
trees, shrubs and plants.

XERISCAPE LANDSCAPE
Appropriate maintenance
 Plant establishment: Provide plant establishment
period of 2-3 years. During this time, all plants should
be sufficiently watered and not be subject to a water
budget.
 Provide for the reduction and eventual elimination of
supplemental irrigation for low water / drought tolerant
plants after establishment period.
 Appropriate maintenance preserves the beauty of the
Xeriscape landscape plus saves water. Pruning,
weeding, proper fertilization, pest control and irrigation
system adjustments all conserve water.

DEVELOPING A WATER
CONSERVATION PLAN
 Company policy statement
 Goals
 Action Plan
 Assigned responsibilities for planned
implementation
 Procedures for implementation,
evaluation, and revision

EDUCATION
Educating the workforce
 A successful water conservation program starts with
educating the workforce.
 Supervisors should understand water bills, water
usage rates and the company’s water system.
 Maintenance personnel should be familiar with water
usage within the company. Shop personnel should be
instructed on water conservation measures.
 Water conservation education should be a continual
process.

EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION
Employee Participation and Public Awareness.
 Start off your awareness program with a letter to all
employees from the head of the company showing full
support of the plan.
 Use bulletins, newsletters, and paycheck stuffers to
communicate policies, programs, ideas etc.
 Hold staff meetings to communicate your company’s
water conservation plan and progress in water savings.
 Promote a suggestion and incentive system and
recognize people who have water saving ideas.
 Distribute water conservation booklets.
 Promote slogan and poster contests.

CHECKLIST OF WATER
CONSERVATION IDEAS
For interior plumbing:
1. Do dye-tablet test to check all tank toilets for leaks.
2. Retrofit showerheads with water-conserving hardware.
3. Retrofit faucets to flow at 2 gallons/minute or less.
4. Consider metered, self-closing and automatic sensor
faucets.
5. Retrofit tank-type toilets with dams or water-filled plastic
containers as displacement devices.
6. Consider replacing toilets with “ultra-low” volume models.
7. Retrofit urinals with flush valves that reduce the volume of
water used per flush.

CHECKLIST OF WATER
CONSERVATION IDEAS
For cooling towers:
1. Prepare an inventory of each cooling tower, its cooling
capability, and the equipment or process it serves.
2. Meter and record the amount of makeup water added to
each tower, and the amount of blow-down water
discharged from each tower.
3. Inventory the chemicals used for the treatment of
recirculating cooling tower water.
4. Tell your chemical vendor(s) that water conservation is a
priority at your facility. Ask your vendor(s) to tell you
about alternate programs that could reduce the amount
of water that is bled-off from cooling towers.

CHECKLIST OF WATER
CONSERVATION IDEAS
For evaporative coolers:
1. Be sure coolers have pumps to recirculate the water
through them.
2. Check to make sure there is not an excessive amount of
water in the coolers. For a typical small cooler, anything
more than a few gallons per hour may be excessive.
3. Pipe the bleed-off from your coolers to help water a
landscaped area.

CHECKLIST OF WATER
CONSERVATION IDEAS
For once-through cooling:
1. Eliminate all uses of “once-through” cooling unless you
reuse the water elsewhere for a beneficial purpose.
2. Many water-cooled equipment can be replaced with air-
cooled models.
3. Connect a recirculating cooling water loop instead of a
once-through cooling system.

 Remember, You Control Your Facility or Area!
 Review Procedures With Them Before Starting the
Job!
 Ensure They Are Properly Trained!
 Determine Their Environmental Compliance Record!
 Determine Who Is in Charge of Their People!
 Determine How They Will Affect Your Facility’s
Environmental Compliance!
TIPS FOR USING CONTRACTORS

ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL
UST PROGRAM
1. DETAILED WRITTEN WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.
2. DETAILED WRITTEN WATER CONSERVATION BEST
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.
3. EXTENSIVE EMPLOYEE TRAINING PROGRAMS
4. PERIODIC REINFORCEMENT OF TRAINING
5. SUFFICIENT DISCIPLINE REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION
6. PERIODIC FOLLOW-UP

THE IMPORTANCE OF A
CLEAN ENVIRONMENT
“I would ask all of us to remember
that protecting our environment is
about protecting where we live and
how we live. Let us join together to
protect our health, our economy,
and our communities -- so all of us
and our children and our
grandchildren can enjoy a healthy
and a prosperous life.”
Carol Browner
Former
EPA
Administrator

Water conservation

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