COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF ENVIRONMENT SPC
Monday, February 07, 2011
HEADED ITEM NO.
HEADED ITEM: G. Lee, Environmental Services
4. Water Conservation and Business Survival.
REPLY:
Water Conservation & Efficiencies for Business
1.0 Plan for Severe Winter Water Restrictions
Water Demand in South Dublin, and regionally, increased dramatically in January 2010 and again in November/December 2010 in response to severe freeze/thaw events. Public mains burst due to ground heave, customer side supplies froze and/or burst culminating in an unprecedented increase of 22% in South Dublin daily water demand.
Regionally, demand outstripped production capabilities by ~13% resulting in a severe drop in reservoir levels. Nightly restrictions and/or shut-off of water supply was required to conserve available supply and restore reservoir levels.
It is prudent to expect that this weather pattern and resultant supply crisis will be repeated so what measures can business put in place to help cope with this situation?
1.1 Provision of Adequate Storage
Water supply can be disrupted without notice in the event of a mains burst, or on a planned basis in the event of programmed works/water restrictions. As required in the SDCC Water Section Specification for the Laying of Water Mains and Drinking Water the minimum water storage requirement for industrial or manufacturing purposes should be calculated on a 24-hour or maximum daily consumption basis. Minimum storage provisions for general non-process business are also specified.
1.2 Protection of Premises
A large number of internal leaks occurred on properties that were vacant over the Christmas period. The following measures may avoid/reduce burst damage and resultant costs in future:-
1.2.1 Insulation of exposed pipework, tanks & cisterns
In winter in unconditioned spaces the water within exposed pipework, tanks and cisterns can easily freeze, expand and may subsequently cause a burst. This can result in considerable damage and cost to the business. Accessible pipes, tanks and cisterns should be insulated taking into account the product manufacturers instructions.
If possible, let warm air circulate through the building to warm pipes/tanks in roof spaces. Leave attic trap doors open. Roof ceiling insulation is preferable to roof floor insulation to minimise risk of freezing of roof space and any pipes/tanks within. Where roof space is insulated at floor level, remove the insulation in the vicinity of pipes/tanks to reduce risk of freezing.
1.2.2 Shut off Isolating Valve to Vacant Premises
If premises will be vacant over holiday period it would be prudent to shut off the supply at the customer side isolating valve. In the event of an internal burst this will minimise the damage caused and the cost of water loss. If the system is also drained there will be no risk of pipe bursts due to freezing.
1.2.3 Emergency shut-off at Meter
External isolating valves in meter boundary boxes are owned by South Dublin County Council and should only be operated by people who are employed by the Council, except in the case of an emergency and/or if everyone whose water supply is controlled by the stop cock has agreed to the supply being turned off.
To turn off the water supply at the meter box, rotate the blue lever anticlockwise for a quarter turn.
Blue Isolating Valve within Meter Box
1.3 What to do if your pipes freeze
If, despite precautions, pipes or tanks do become frozen you should consult with a professional plumber. However the following tips may be useful:
· Shut off the customer-side isolating valve
· Before you start to thaw the system, remove any furniture or equipment that may get damaged by melting ice and water
· Gently warm the frozen pipes (hairdryer, fan-heater etc)
If a pipe or tank should actually burst, turn off the water at the isolating valve immediately and switch off all central heating and other water heating installations. Let water in the system drain out by turning on all the taps, and then call in a professional plumber to make the repairs.
2.0 General Water Conservation
Saving water makes good business sense. About 20% of the water used in South Dublin is used by the Non-domestic Sector. Simple changes to the way your business uses water can conserve water and save you money as well as improving overall economic, environmental and social sustainability.
2.1 Know Your Water Consumption
Recording your water meter readings on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly) will allow you to identify trends in water consumption. Knowing your water usage trends will enable you to identify changes in water use that may not otherwise be apparent.
2.1.1 Finding you meter
In general the water meter is located in the foothpath outside your premises. An eight digit serial number is stamped on the meter underneath the reading digits. This serial number will appear on
your bill. The meter can be opened by prizing the lid off with a screwdriver. It is important that the meter lid is replaced properly and shut firmly to ensure that the meter box remains water tight.
The meter box contains a plastic plug (not shown). This is provided to guard against frost damage and must be removed if you wish to examine the meter. It should be replaced once you are finished. An
Automatic Meter Reading device, which transmits your reading by radio signal, has been attached to your meter. It must not be removed. The digits may be viewed by lifting the flap on the top of the unit.
| Meter Cover | Meter Dial |
2.1.2 How to read your meter
All South Dublin County Council meters are metric meters, they measure water volume in cubic meters (1 cubic meter = 1000 litres). When water is used the red dial will rotate proportionally to the amount of water used and the reading digits will increase accordingly. The black digits record cubic meters. You will be charged on the basis of whole cubic meters used.
Remember:
If your business has more than one supply the total consumption is the sum of each meter reading.
There should not be a significant increase in your water consumption. If there is a significant change there should be an obvious reason such as an increase in the number of staff, an increase in production or a change in use of a building.
2.1.3 How do you compare?
For offices the following benchmark can be used:
| Cubic metres per year | Litres/day (253 day business year) | ||
| Typical use | By Employee | 4.0m3/employee/yr | 15.8 l/employee/yr |
| By Area | 0.6 m3/m2/yr | 2.4 l/m2/yr | |
| Best Practice | By Employee | 2.0m3/employee/yr | 7.9 l/employee/yr |
| By Area | 0.4 m3/m2/yr | 1.6 l/m2/yr | |
| Excessive use | By Employee | 7.0m3/employee/yr | 27.7 l/employee/yr |
| By Area | 0.8 m3/m2/yr | 3.2 l/m2/yr |
Note: Total employee numbers should be used even if fulltime equivalent numbers are available.
Source ‘Key performance Indicators for water use on Offices, CIRIA 2006
2.2 Reducing your water consumption
Many organisations use much more water than they actually need incurring excessive costs. Often measures can be taken that cost little or nothing to implement but can result in considerable savings in your water bill.
While no two office buildings are the same a typical consumption pattern is shown below, with the great majority of use accounted for by the washrooms.
2.2.1 Water audit
All organisations can benefit from carrying out a simple water audit, which will allow you to assess your plumbing appliances/fittings for water efficiencies.
The easiest way to do this is
· List all water using items.
· Review each one and assess if there is potential to improve efficiency.
· Develop an Action Plan which will prioritise work, assign responsibilities and set timeframes for completion.
· Review regularly and set targets for further improvements
The next few pages ‘Saving Water: Make it Your Business’ may be of assistance.
We recommend that specialist advice be sought on water efficiency measures for more complex water fittings, for example cooling towers.
9
Saving Water: Make it Your Business
Washroom Facilities
Water use in public and staff washrooms can account for up to 90% of your total water usage depending on the business activity. Often the water used by toilets, showers and basins are overlooked making this area an easy target for water savings. The installation of water efficient devices can be very cost effective.
For example, a full flush toilet uses about 11 litres per flush compared to a dual flush toilet which can reduce each full flush to 4.5 to 6 litres and each half flush to 3 litres. If you have 100 users on a daily basis this could save up to 380 m3 annually.
Potential water saving opportunities
Toilets
· Fitting a water displacement device such as a ‘hippo bag’ in your toilet cistern could save between 2.5 – 3.5 litres per flush. Note: ‘Hippo bags’ are only to be fitted in cisterns with volumes of 9 litres or more.
· If fitting new toilets or replacing old toilets consideration should be given to dual flush toilets with a max flush volume of 6 litres.
· Detection of a leaking cistern is often difficult and the best method for detection is to add a small volume of food colouring to the cistern and then check the back of the pan after an hour for traces of the colour.
· Ensure units are inspected for leaks every three months and task daily cleaners with reporting any obvious leak
· Avoid using the toilet as a rubbish bin. High volumes of water are often wasted when staff use toilets to dispose of general waste. This behaviour may also lead to blockages.
Urinals
Many urinals flush 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This happens even when there is nobody in the building wasting large volumes of water and money. Flushing can be made more cost effective by installing flush control systems, which only flush during office hours or after use, rather than continuously.
Cisterns/storage tanks
Checks should be made to ensure that cisterns, whether for storage or flushing, are not overfilling and causing water to run to waste through overflow pipes. In such instances, necessary adjustments or repairs should be made to the float-operated valve or other device, which controls the inflow of water to the cistern.
Taps
· A single tap dripping at one drip per second can loose up to 4,500 litres of water in a year. Repairing a leaking tap may be as easy as replacing a washer and may only cost a couple of cents.
· Taps left running can waste large volumes of water. In washrooms consider replacing conventional screw taps with self close taps that close automatically after a preset period.
· Other tap controls are an easy and cheap way of reducing water consumption and are available in both new and retrofit versions. Examples include spray taps, infra-red, flow restrictors etc.
Saving Water: Make it Your Business
Canteen/Kitchen
The main areas of water usage in canteens/ kitchens include sinks, dishwashers and garbage disposals. By adopting water conservation principles in these areas you can significantly reduce your operating costs and improve your businesses water efficiency.
Tracking your water efficiency
Water tracking can help your business gauge its water efficiency performance and help establish goals for water reduction. The efficiency of your canteen/kitchen can be expressed in terms of litres per food item, or meals prepared. The following table may be used as a performance guide to assess your water efficiency.
| Rating | Water Usage (Litres per food item/meal prepared) |
| Good | Less than 35 |
| Fair | 35-45 |
| Poor | More than 45 |
| Note: Water usage based on total canteen/kitchen usage divided by number of meals prepared | |
| Source: Brisbane City Council Fact Sheet 2 Commercial Kitchens |
Potential water saving opportunities
Adopt water saving practices
Water savings can often be achieved by working with staff to improve everyday procedures and practices.
· Talk to your staff on a regular basis about potential water saving ideas.
· Get staff to turn off taps when they are not in use.
· Encourage staff to proactively report leaks and repair leaks quickly.
· Undertake regular kitchen inspections to detect equipment leaks and malfunctions.
· Discourage staff from using running water to thaw frozen food.
· Dry sweep floors and use a mop and a bucket instead of hosing (except when it is conducted to protect public health and safety).
Dishwasher use
· Train your staff to use the best wash program for the job.
· Only run rack dishwashers when they are full.
· Hand scrape food scraps from dishes instead of excessive rinsing before loading into the dishwasher.
· Wash and rinse food in the sink with the plug in or in a separate container without the kitchen tap continually running
Introduce water efficient fixtures
The largest water wasters in the canteen/kitchen are sinks and taps due to their frequent high use. Often taps flow at excessive rates.
· Tap controls are an easy and cheap way of reducing water consumption and are available in both new and retrofit versions. Examples include spray taps, pedal/infra-red sensor controllers, flow restrictors, flow restriction aerators etc.
· Consider replacing inefficient pre-rinse spray guns low flow, high pressure guns. This may reduce your spray-gun water usage by a factor of 5.
· Use strainers or traps that employ a mesh screen to collect food waste and place food waste in the bin or compost instead of using garbage disposal units which use significant volumes of water to flush food scraps to the sewer.
Saving Water: Make it Your Business
Cleaning
Most businesses have a daily or weekly equipment clean requirement to maintain hygiene standards or good housekeeping practices. Many cleaning processes consume large volumes of water which with some simple changes can be made significantly more efficient.
Potential water saving opportunities
Adopt water saving practices
· Talk to your cleaners and staff about the potential to minimise water use and review the current cleaning procedures on site.
· Cleaning procedures should be defined clearly and regular audits are recommended to ensure procedures are followed and changes are successfully implemented.
· Transition to dry clean up use brushes, vacuums, scrapers, squeegees or any other instrument to reduce the requirement for wet cleaning practices (except when it is conducted to protect public health and safety).
· Dry sweep or vacuum floors and collect contaminants instead of hosing.
· Develop dry cleaning procedures to contain & collect spill materials.
· Use scrapers or squeegees to remove food residues from processing equipment prior to commencing wet cleaning procedures.
· To avoid floor wash down use dry absorbents and then sweep or vacuum these areas.
· Inspect your site for the source of spills and leaks which may be increasing your wash down frequency.
· Use contamination control floor mats to reduce the volume of waste and dirt tracked throughout your business.
· Consider dry powder carpet cleaning methods instead of steam cleaning or other wet carpet cleaning methods.
· Dry sweep or vacuum outdoor parking, loading, forecourt, hard surface areas.
· Alter the window cleaning schedule from regular to ‘as required’ and ensure windows are cleaned from a bucket filled directly from a tap.
Saving Water: Make it Your Business
General Maintenance
Over the lifetime of any business its facilities will inevitably experience water leaks. These leaks will vary in size and have an impact on the overall water consumption for your site. An effective maintenance program should incorporate regular water consumption tracking and on site preventative maintenance inspections. This proactive approach to monitoring and maintenance could easily save your business hundreds of euros a year in water and energy costs.
Potential water saving opportunities
Monitor your water meter
· Nominate a member of staff to have specific responsibility for monitoring the use of water.
· Monitor your water consumption and check for an unusual trend of increasing water consumption which cannot be explained by changes in your business activity/size.
· An easy way to check for leaks is to take a reading of your water meter at night and check it again in the morning before any water has been used. If the meter reading is higher you have a leak that needs to be traced and fixed.
Conduct Monthly Inspections
· Conduct monthly inspections of your business focusing on piping joints, toilets, cisterns, pump seals, hose nozzles, shutoff valves, cooling towers etc.
· Check for leaking toilets by adding a few drops of food colouring to your toilet cistern. Don’t flush the toilet for at least an hour. If colouring shows up in the toilet bowl after an hour, you have a leak.
· Educate staff and cleaners to report leaks directly to maintenance or management and ensure leaks are fixed immediately.
· Poorly maintained and old equipment can often be prone to leaks. Check water using equipment on a regular basis and develop preventative maintenance schedules to help avoid potential issues.
· For underground or concealed pipework, acoustic leak detection and pressure testing is available through leak detection companies.
Sub meter
· If your business facility has multiple high use water areas it may be advantageous to isolate and meter each production area to track water consumption.
· Isolating individual production areas will help track water efficiency improvements as you make them and also pinpoint potential issue areas. Individual areas of high water use can then become the focus of immediate water saving actions.