How businesses can reduce water use to save money and help the environment

Saving water to reduce costs and protect the environment is always a good idea for your business, but because of the need for much higher levels of regular handwashing to fight the spread of Covid-19, many businesses will be using more water during these times, just when they need to be minimising their bills to safeguard their futures.

It’s easy to think of water being plentiful and free. But with climate change becoming more serious and bills on the rise, businesses are starting to see the benefits of reducing their water usage. For some sectors, such as food & drink and municipal water treatment, it’s central to survival and success. Nevertheless, businesses of all types can do their bit to help the environment; reducing their costs at the same time.

Why reduce water use?

Water is a precious natural resource all organisations use in some way, so it’s in our common interests to use it wisely and ensure the viability of its continued supply where we live and work
Direct cost – even where it’s only used peripherally – e.g. for customer toilets – rising water costs can greatly impact profit and success. Turn that around and it’s an opportunity to improve them. Henderson’s restaurants in Edinburgh saved £5,000 a year (33%) on its water bill with just a few tweaks to its use of water.
Indirect cost – if we all use less water, the energy required to treat and supply it will be minimised, helping control the supply cost to businesses
Brand reputation & competitive advantage – consumers and business organisations are becoming more conscious of ethically-sourcing their needs and are increasingly choosing those who behave in a more ecologically-aware way and communicate that over those who don’t

How can businesses reduce water use?

There are lots of ways to save water and enjoy the benefits of doing so. Before looking at how to fix issues with water use, it’s important to monitor it properly. Reviewing your water bill regularly, will help you understand how you are charged for water. This will enable you to grasp opportunities for improvement, identify billing issues and ensure any leakage is identified and fixed quickly, saving you money. A water meter can also be installed to ensure minimal and accurate water costs and avoid expensive estimated bills.

Businesses can set KPIs to monitor and minimise use – common ones include litres per staff member, per £100,000 turnover, per tonnes of materials processed, per product produced and per project. Here are our top tips for reducing water use:

Fix visible leaks and faults – schedule regular site checks are essential to do this effectively. Evenings and weekends are best as in industrial premises they will be when there are fewer distractions and some leaks can be better heard.
Train and engage staff - changing the behaviour of staff can have a big impact on the amount of water you use. People who appreciate the cost of water to the company, and the effect of that on profits and job security, are more efficient when using it. They’re also more likely to quickly report leaks or faults, helping you fix them ASAP.
Review operational procedures – to reduce water use. An example is countercurrent rinsing in continuous process operations which works on the principle of water flowing through the process in the opposite direction to materials. As the water flows into each section of the washing/rinsing process, it comes into contact with material with increasing amounts of impurities and contaminants, so becoming increasingly contaminated. However, it means water is used efficiently, with minimal upset to the quality of the end product.
Introduce Cleaning in place (CIP) systems – these can be used to clean pipework, vessels and other equipment in-situ and can bring water savings of about 50%. As CIP is an automated process with no human contact, strong detergents and/or acid or alkaline solutions can be used. The combination of longer contact time, temperature and chemical strength produces a method that is more effective than soaking or foam cleaning.
Further reductions in water, effluent and energy costs can be achieved through: internal recycling of water and chemicals through re-use of final rinse water for first rinses and re-use of concentrated cleaning chemicals; upgrading to more water-efficient spray devices such as nozzles and removing product and gross soiling before cleaning.
Use a WTDS dewatering disc press to extract water from sludge - so you can reuse it as greywater – it will also reduce sludge disposal costs by reducing sludge volume and reduce your company’s carbon footprint.
Reduce toilet cistern flush volume - since the Water Supply (Fittings) Regulations 1999 came into force, new toilets have to have a single flush volume of no more than six litres. However, a maximum flush volume of 4.5 litres is regarded as best practice. There are two low-cost solutions that you can install on your existing cisterns to reduce their flush volume to a more efficient level – cistern volume adjusters and cistern dams.
Reduce tap flow rates – taps for domestic use only require a flow rate of four litres per minute. However, flow rates in organisations across Scotland regularly exceed this. To determine the flow rate of your company’s taps, you can use see how long it takes to fill a bucket or bottle of known volume. To reduce the flow rate, look at retrofit devices such tap aerators and flow regulator inserts, pressure reducing valves or in-line flow regulators.
Fit replace taps – if you can’t reduce the flow rate, or if you’re looking to include these in a refurbishment programme, there is a range of water-efficient taps which aim to provide high performance, while reducing the amount of water used
Reduce urinal flush frequency - urinals set to flush regardless of use waste a lot of water, especially out of hours - typically at least four times per hour, using more than 36 litres per cistern, or more than 310,000 litres a year! Installing controllers to limit flushing to when it’s required can reduce water used by up to 75%. The most popular controllers are hydraulic valves, PIR sensors, manual shut-off valves and timers.
Reduce shower flow rates - showers in the workplace help with hygiene but can waster water. A conventional shower uses 70 litres for a 10-minute shower. Power-showers use more - approximately 120 litres or 12 litres per minute. Solutions include: installing a flow regulator in the pipework upstream of the shower fitting; installing a flow regulator in the showerhead; using a water-efficient showerhead and using a push button to control water use, as in swimming pools.
Engage customers - if your customers come on-site, they will be one of your biggest opportunities to save water and may already be motivated to do from an environmental point of view. Resource Efficient Scotland has professional materials you can download and use.
Reuse wastewater – by treating and re-using wastewater on site, you can benefit from reduced water supply costs and, in some cases, reduced wastewater costs. The degree of treatment and the combination of treatment options required will be dependent on the input and required output quality of water. Treatment options range from basic ultraviolet treatment to kill bacteria and basic filters and Disk stack separators to remove debris through to biological treatments such as dissolved air flotation or membrane filtration.
Investigate using closed-loop cooling systems - traditionally, when water is used to remove heat from processes it often requires significant quantities of water which is then directly discharged to a drain. By moving to a recirculating system, water savings can be between 70 and 96%. The improved management of cooling water can also enable the transport of heat or hot water to another location for others uses - domestic purposes, cleaning or elsewhere in a process, leading to energy savings.
Harvest rainwater – harvesting rainwater from roofs or hardstanding reduces the need for paid-for water. If it’s collected from your site, it can also reduce your water bill by removing the need for roads and drainage charges. Captures rainwater can be treated using an appropriate technology used for things not needing high-quality water, such as toilet flushing, garden watering or laundry washing.

Based in Aberdeen, DHMO provides bespoke solutions to the Oil & Gas, Industrial, Food & Drink and Municipal waste industries. We offer a range of applications including the treatment of waste water, oil and sludge to help businesses optimise processes to minimise costs.

Our treatment solutions include: Disc Stack Separators, Decanter Centrifuges, DAF Units, Filtration and Dewatering Systems.

For more information, please contact us directly.