Conserving Water at the Office
Many businesses are making efforts to decrease their water use. Here are ways reduce water use in your workplace.
In the Office
- Install an instant water heater near your kitchen sink so you don’t have to run the water while it heats up. This also reduces energy costs.
- Upgrade older toilets with water-saving WaterSense® labeled models.
- Install water-saving aerators on all of your faucets.
- Look for WaterSense® labeled toilets, sink faucets, urinals and showerheads.
- Some commercial refrigerators and ice-makers are cooled with water. Upgrade to air-cooled appliances for significant water savings.
- Post a hotline in bathrooms and kitchens to report leaks or water waste to facility managers or maintenance personnel.
- Create a suggestion and incentives system at your organization to recognize water-saving ideas.
- Include a water-saving tip in your employee newsletter.
- Implement a water management plan for your facility, then educate employees on good water habits through newsletters and posters.
- Publish your organization’s monthly water use to show progress toward water-saving goals.
- Conduct a water audit for your facility to find out your recommended water use, then monitor your utility bills to gauge your monthly consumption.
- Have maintenance personnel regularly check your facilities for leaks, drips and other water waste.
- If you use processed water in your business or facility, look into water recycling.
- Consider and compare water use when purchasing ice makers, dishwashers, reverse osmosis units, coolers and cleaning equipment.
- Become or appoint a water ambassador within your organization who creates, implements and maintains your water conservation program.
- Determine how your on-site water is being used by installing sub-meters where feasible, then monitoring for savings.
- Conduct a facility water use inventory and identify water management goals.
- Don’t forget hidden water use costs, like energy for pumping, heating and cooling, chemical treatment, and damage and sewer expenses.
- Show your company’s dedication to water conservation through a policy statement. Commit management, staff and resources to the effort.
- Shut off water to unused areas of your facility to eliminate waste from leaks or unmonitored use.
- Create a goal of how much water your company can save and plan a celebration once that goal is met.
- Ask employees for suggestions on saving water and give prizes for the best ideas. Incentivize it!
- Hire a WaterSense® irrigation partner to help with your landscape.
- Ask your company to support water conservation events and education.
- Forgo those plastic water bottles to lower your carbon footprint.
- Scrape dishes rather than rinsing them before washing.
- Use water-conserving ice-makers.
- A recent study showed that 99% of business managers surveyed ranked water conservation as a “top five” priority over the next decade.
- If your facility relies on cooling towers, have maintenance maximize cycles of concentration by providing efficient water treatment.
- Be sure your irrigation system is watering only the areas intended, with no water running onto walks, streets or down the gutter.
- While cleaning sidewalks, a hose and nozzle use 8-12 gallons of water per minute.
- Inspect your landscape irrigation system regularly for leaks or broken sprinkler heads and adjust pressures to specification.
- Give your landscape proper amounts of irrigation water. Determine water needs, water deeply but infrequently, and adjust to the season.
- Establish a monthly water budget for your landscape based on the water needs of your plants.
- Put decorative fountains on timers and use only during work or daylight hours. Check for leaks if you have automatic refilling devices.
- Wash company vehicles at commercial car washers that recycle water.
- Wash company vehicles as needed rather than on a schedule. Stretch out the time in between washes.
- Consider turning your high-maintenance water feature/fountain into a low-maintenance art feature or planter.
- When buying new appliances, consider those that offer cycle and load size adjustments. They are more water and energy efficient.
- Support projects that use reclaimed wastewater for irrigation and industrial uses.
- When ice cubes are leftover from your drink, don’t throw them out. Pour them on a plant.