The first step in reducing water costs is understanding where they come from. You can use that knowledge to identify opportunities to reduce, reuse, and treat water to meet your goals without sacrificing quality and safety.  

Know Where Your Water is Being Used  

Your water bill informs you of all the freshwater you’ve drawn in, but it takes a little more digging to determine where it went and how efficiently it was used. Just like at home, an unattended hose or faucet sends gallons of water down the drain by the minute. And you’re paying for it.   

A water audit conducted by a water management partner will help you see the big picture. Once the audit is complete, divide water use into categories that you can begin to address one by one, such as:  

• Production process (fabricating, processing, washing, diluting, cooling, transporting)     
• Heating and cooling the building         
• Cleaning (office areas, plant floor, equipment)          
• Sanitation         
• Landscaping/outdoor         
• Consumption (human, facility, and product)         
• Uncontrolled water losses     

There are many different tactics for using water smarter. Remember, reducing freshwater use does not mean reducing overall water use. The tactics you choose may depend on facility location, production processes, operating budget, and/or water reduction goals.   

Four Approaches to Water Use Management 

Following are four approaches to water management that are used in combination to create a water management plan. You can use this list to inform the development of a water management plan. Because these changes will make an immediate impact, feel free to experiment and test different tactics until you have a system in place that works best for you.   

1.       Water efficiency focuses on reducing the amount of water that is wasted during a process. A few tactics that improve water efficiency include:          

• Develop a water treatment plan that maintains proper water chemistries, ensuring pipes and heat transfer surfaces remain free from scale and corrosion, and power plant equipment runs at peak performance. ·       
• Install automation equipment to monitor and analyze water usage in all critical areas. 
• Properly train all plant personnel in water treatment, monitoring, and management practices. ·         Review electrical demands and controls for pumping, heating, or cooling water. For example, install variable frequency drives and smaller pumps or motors where applicable.
• Assess HVAC systems for operational efficiency.  

 2.      Water conservation tactics restrict the amount of water required for a particular purpose, including:  

• Install water efficient equipment: recirculating systems for heating and cooling, properly sized water pretreatment equipment and properly applied water pretreatment.
• Replace old equipment with higher efficiency equipment.
• Replace water-cooled equipment with air-cooled equipment.
• Educating employees about the importance of using less water.
• Installing hoses with automatic shut-off nozzles.   

3.       Reusing, treating, and filtering water allows you to extend the life of water while it is in your facility. Common tactics include:  

• Instead of letting clean, non-potable water from sources like cooling towers, rain collection, sinks, and machines go down the drain, this water can be used for processes that don’t require potable water, such as cleaning and cooling.
• Install a reverse osmosis system, which purifies water by removing ions, contaminates, and larger particles. When applied properly, RO water allows less water, chemical and energy to be used.
• Develop a water treatment plan that maintains proper water chemistries to keep your facility operating efficiently and to protect against scale, microorganisms and biofilm.  

 4.      Wastewater control initiatives will drive down any costs related to overpaying for water, such as:       

• Monitor water inputs and outputs to the point that you can determine how much water goes in the sewer and how much goes to the publicly owned treatment works (POTW). Then assure any water entering your facility that does not go to the sewer or POTW is communicated to the local utility so they can apply the appropriate credit to your bill. 
• Meet wastewater discharge limits. The discharge of contaminated water is a chargeable offense that leads to large surcharges, potentially large fines, and could prompt a plant shutdown.
• Investigate the potential to treat water currently being hauled off due to contamination.    

In the end, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Get smarter about getting the most value for your water use dollar by consulting with your water management partner today.