Saving Water in Business and Industry
Being waterwise is good for your business. All commercial organisations use water, but how many know exactly how much of this precious resource they are using? Predictions are that in Suffolk the summers will be getting hotter and dryer. The East of England is the driest part of the country and water is a valuable resource.
Costs
If you are a manufacturing industry then water bills could be costing your company over 1% of business turnover.
If you are in the retail, hospitality or service sector you could save up to 50% of your water bill. Even if your water use is only for the offices you occupy, there are ways to save water with pay back periods measured in months!
Carbon Footprint
We estimate that currently the delivery of water to consumers produced 344 grams of CO2 per million litres. Treating wastewater is 745 grams per million litres. This is not an exact science and these figures are subject to review.
So what can you do as a business?
The first thing you need to do if you want to save water is to work out how much you use. Conduct a water audit and produce a water management plan that will deliver savings and help the environment. CRed Suffolk's free Environmental Business Adviser can help you address the issue of water conservation.
How much water can I save?
Commercial businesses
You might expect to save an average of 40% of your water use by making simple, low cost changes to toilets, showers, urinals etc. To find out more about how to make these savings, see the Environment Agency’s Conserving water in buildings fact cards for many helpful tips and a list of suppliers who will be able to help you.
Industrial businesses
Potential savings at industrial sites are harder to estimate as they are process specific, but they can be as high as 90%! The table below shows the average that you can expect to save for different types of efficiency measures.
Efficiency measure | Percentage of water saved |
|---|---|
Closed loop recycle | 90% |
Closed loop recycle with treatment | 60% |
Automatic shut-off | 15% |
Countercurrent rinsing | 40% |
Spray/jet upgrades | 20% |
Re-use of wash water | 50% |
Scrapers | 30% |
Cleaning-in-place (CiP) | 60% |
Pressure reduction | Variable |
Cooling tower heat load reduction | Variable |
Source: Envirowise: Water Account Pocket Notebook
Other Sources of Information.
The Envirowise website contains a wealth of detailed information on how to make these savings. Take a look at Envirowise's Rippleffect initiative which has been developed to help businesses reduce water and effluent bills by around 30%.
The Environment Agency offer detailed information on Water Conservation measures for both residential and business users.
Essex and Suffolk Water - Essex and Suffolk Water's gives guidance on saving water in business (go to the business services section).
Anglian Water's website has general information on water efficiency measures for small and medium enterprises.
Waterwise gives a lot of detailed information on water saving and efficiency. Some pages are more geared towards domestic properties but many of the methods can also be used in businesses. They also have very good case studies showing you what others have managed to achieve.
