Conserve Water at the Office

Many businesses are making efforts to decrease their water use. Here are ways to reduce water use in your workplace.

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 monitor 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.
• Marry the weather with your landscape water use. Water use should decrease during rainy periods and increase during hot, dry periods.
• 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 them 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.