RESOURCES

Commercial / Industrial / Institutional Water Saving Tips

Each industrial, commercial, or institutional (ICI) facility is unique and may have water using processes not indicated here.

Look for innovative solutions to reduce water use.

GENERAL

Adjust pump cooling and flushing water to the minimum required.
As equipment wears out, replace with water-saving models.
Install air-cooled ice machines—Machines that use single pass cooling water for their condensers can use 10 times as much water as air-cooled units.
Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator rather than under running water.
Replace pre-rinse shut-off spray nozzles—Spray Nozzles can use as much as 5 gallons of water each minute, while efficient low-volume nozzles use 1.6 gallons per minute. These units are designed to remove food as effectively as or even better than their high flow counterparts.
Serve water in bars and restaurants only upon request.
Wash only full loads in the dishwashers.

SINGLE-PASS COOLING

Eliminate single pass cooling—Single pass cooling uses water once and then discharges it to the sewer. Single pass cooling can use up to 40 times more water than a closed loop-cooling tower.

Consider Installing a cooling tower:

Replacing single pass water-cooled equipment with air-cooled units.
Reusing single pass water in other processes as long as water quality is acceptable.

STERILIZERS & AUTOCLAVES

Sterilizers and Autoclaves can account for as much as 10 percent of medical, dental, veterinary, and hospital water use. This high amount of water use is due to the large number of machines, their continuous availability, and often the inefficient design of older equipment. We recommend:

Retrofitting units with solenoid operated valves—These valves can shut the unit off when not in service.
Replacing old inefficient units with new efficient models—Newer units are designed to recirculate water and shut the machine off when not in use.