Recap: Easy Steps Your Business Can Take to Conserve Water

8/14/2015

At our August business breakfast Shannon Carnevale, UF/IFAS Extension Agent, presented simple energy and water saving steps that businesses can take to conserve their usage, help the Winter Haven community's environment and in some cases, save money. For those who missed it, check out the info below, and feel free to reach out directly to Shannon at [email protected].

Below you will see a recap on saving water in your business.

So why should we care so much about saving water?

We drink it
Lake levels and tourism
Water permits are necessary for economic development (i.e. the City is only allowed so many gallons of water per their permit).

So how can your business help to save water?

Solution #1: Faucets
- Updated faucet aerators can save water

Old faucets: 2.0 gallons per minute or more
Water Saving faucets: 0.5-1.5 gallons per minute

- If washing hands for 30 seconds, 5 times a day … a 1GPM aerator saves 450-1,369 gal/year!
- You can get updated aerators for FREE from Extension Agent. Just contact Shannon.

What's an aerator? It's the filter-looking contraption at the end of your faucet. They come in two sizes and if you aren't sure above is an easy way to tell the size of your aerator – nickel or dime. If you want to learn how to change your aerator you can access this YouTube video.

The average daily use of an individual is:
Each resident uses ≈ 100-125 Gallons Per Day (GPD)
–Indoor use: ≈ 50-60 GPD
–Aerators may save ≈3 GPD OR ≈ 6% of daily use

* We did this at the chamber and have reduced our gallons per minute usage by over 50% throughout the building.

Solution #2: Sprinkler System
- Check your timer!

Many are set to water too much, too frequently

- Install a Rain sensor

Uses a piece of cork that expands when wet
Cost $15-$45
Uses one third less water

- Did you know?

St. Augustine grass can go up to 5 days without water in the summer and 7-23 days without water in winter.

Two examples of Florida Friendly Landscaping

Solution #3: Florida Friendly Landscaping
- Florida friendly plants

Use irrigation zones: established shrubs and trees need less water than grass.
Right Plant, Right Place

- Micro-irrigation can water 50% or less are so you are not watering sidewalks.

Solution #4: Tank bags or dual flush system
- Dual flush kits for traditional toilets cost around $30.

Saving half a gallon, 5 times per toilet per day = saving over 900 gallons per toilet per year!

- Tank banks cost $5

One model saved 0.8 gallons per flush

If you are a restaurant looking for water saving tips check out this website.

The impact - Economic Development for Example
Every community has a consumptive use permit that sets the amount of water they can use. Right now Winter Haven's Consumptive Use Permit is 10 MGD. We are currently using about 70% of that on average and of that 50% goes to outdoor use (irrigation, car washing etc,)

In theory, if everyone in Winter Haven used a water-smart aerator to wash their hands after the restroom we could save 1.5 gallons (estimate) per minute (based on the average of 5 bathroom breaks per person, per day). Or, about 95 million gallons per year.

95 million gallons = 1 week of water supply OR the equivalent of 2,000 additional residents! So by saving water, you can effectively add residents without needing additional water supply sources.

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