Environmental Accommodation Providers of Auckland (EAPA)

Water conservation

Minimising Water Use
The International Hotels Environment Initiative estimates that hotel consumption ranges from 60 cubic metres to 120 cubic metres per bedroom per year - depending on the level and type of facilities provided and whether energy conservation practices are in place.

Main water consumption areas and activities in hotels are:

• Kitchen
• Cooling tower
• Public area toilets in bars, restaurants and lobby areas
• Kitchen and bathroom facilities in guest rooms
• Laundry
• Gymnasium, swimming pool and spas
• Air conditioning system
• Gardens and pot plants.

Case Studies

1. THC Rotorua: Conserving water in the bathroom
2. Lincoln Green Motor Hotel: Water audit and water reduction projects
3. International examples

THC Rotorua
Initiative: conserving water in the bathroom

The hotel
The THC Rotorua Hotel has 124 rooms and consumes considerable quantities of water.

Incentive for change
Recently the Rotorua District Council made a number of changes to wastewater charges, which meant increases for almost all properties discharging wastewater to the reticulated sewage system. These changes provided an incentive for the hotel to investigate options for minimising water use in guestrooms and public area bathrooms.

1. Water flow regulators fitted to showerheads and urinals
Research showed that water flows from showers ranged from 10-25 litres per minute with one wildcat shower set at 35 litres per minute

Action
Through installation of ‘watersaver' flow regulators, the THC Rotorua Hotel was able to regulate flows to10 litres per minute. In addition to reduced water consumption, the flow regulators resulted in a more controlled spray pattern. The flow regulators were trialed in 20 rooms to determine guest feedback. Over a two month trial period, no adverse comments were received. Flow restrictors were installed in all rooms following this trial.

Savings

1. Reduction in water costs (water supply and wastewater costs) = $5,244
2. Implementation costs for both = $3,060
3. A payback period of seven months.

2. Control system on urinals
The THC Hotel has three urinals fitted with an automatic flushing systems.

• Frequency of flushing = every 9 minutes
• Litres per flush = 10
• Total litres of water per hour = 66 litres
• per day = 1,580.

Action
A ‘waterguard' was fitted to each of the three urinals. The system required installation of a solenoid operated water valve in the supply pipe to each cistern, which was controlled by a microwave sensor. The sensor detects customers entering the urinal and enables flushing to occur at a specified time after use.

Water Savings

1. Water consumption during the day for the three urinals reduced form 66 litres per hour to a maximum of 40 litres per hour
2. Waste consumption during the night was reduced from 66 litres per hour to 10 litres per hour
3. Water savings are linked to the level of use, as urinals must still be flushed after use.
4. However, the project showed that a minimum water savings are in excess of 30% and that maximum savings could be in excess of 60%.

Benefits

• Reduced water supply costs
• Reduced wastewater costs
• Reduced energy costs associated with flushing of urinals
• No reduction in quality of service provided to guests.

Lincoln Green Motor Hotel
Initiative: waster audit and water reduction programmes

The hotel
The Lincoln Green Motor Hotel is a property in Waitakere City.
There are 30 rooms, function facilities, and restaurant, two bars. The hotel operates its own laundry. Water use is high and the per unit cost is expected to rise in future as water shortages affect the Auckland region.

The hotel is one of Waitakere City's top 80 water users and at the time of the audit was paying approximately $1,000 per month for water.

Initiative: Audit - measuring water flow
As part of its water cycle strategy, Waitakere City Council carried out a complete water use audit of the Lincoln Green. This involved measuring water flow rates throughout the hotel to ensure that they matched records of water use held by the council and the recommended flow rates for each appliance and outlet.

The hotel comprises three main blocks, each supplied by a separate water meter, so water use for each block could be easily measured.

1. Shower heads
Shower flow rates were measured in three rooms by running the shower for a specified time into a bucket and measuring the amount of water produced. Three flow rates were observed.

Shower type	Flow rate litres per second	Comments
1. Grohe, black	3.4	Shower head apparently faulty.
2. Grohe	6.5	Flow appeared adequate for a good shower.
3. Slim chrome	22.8	Flow more forceful than necessary.

 
Recommended flow rate - between 6-10 litres per minute
Over a 10 minute period, shower 3 would use 168 litres more than shower 2 (the equivalent to the contents of a 40 gallon drum.

Auditor's recommendation
The auditor recommended that the hotel replace showerheads of the type use on shower 3 with one similar to those used on showers 1 and 2.
*Water efficient showerheads vary in price from under $20 for a simple domestic model, to $160 or more for one with several spray options.

Payback period
The auditors estimated that for the Lincoln Green, replacing the highest use showerhead with a $60 model would pay for itself within a year, based on water savings alone.

The significant savings for energy used to heat large quantities of water would further reduce the payback time. If you are considering replacing showerheads in your hotel, it is important to test several different models to find the one which suites your water pressure and the flow level you want. Many of the less expensive models will do a perfectly adequate job.

2. Urinals
The main block of the Lincoln Green houses the function centre, the kitchen and restaurant, administration and two bars.

Despite this range of functions, many of which require substantial water use, the auditors estimated that 89% of the water being used in the main block was by the hotel's urinals; 70% for flushing and 19% from a leaking urinal.

To check whether the urinals were the major cause of water use, hotel staff read the water metre for the main block last thing at night and first thing in the morning, during which time the urinals were the only source of water used.

A leak detection expert was also called in, to determine that an underground leak was not responsible for the water loss. No discernible underground leaks were found.
The urinals collectively were found to use approximately 12 cubic metres of water each day. At a unit cost of $1.22 per cubic metre, the cost of flushing water for the urinals was $14.64 per day or $5,343.60 each year. Since the audit the unit price for water in Waitakere City has increased to $1.34 per cubic metre.

Action
The leaking urinal was fixed and the manager of the Lincoln Green is investigating the cost of sensors to attach to the urinals which don't already have them. The sensors will activate the flush mechanism only when the urinal has been used, saving water which was previously wasted by automatic, timed flushing. The cost of the sensors depends on the type used and whether they are purchased or hired, but the payback time for the Lincoln green on two urinals will be less than a year.

Auditor's recommendations

1. Re-programme laundry wash cards to reduce water use by 5%
2. Replace single flush cisterns with dual-flush cisterns as maintenance needs require it
3. Attach spray nozzles to the hose to wash out the tanks in the beer cellar, ideally in conjunction with a timer

Savings
In the first three months after the audit, the Lincoln Green saved $970 from reduced water use. This was the result of fixing the leaking urinal and some leaking taps. It did not include savings from new showerheads and sensors on urinals.

Benefits

• Decreased water use
• Decreased energy costs for heating water
• Increased staff awareness of the value of water and the ways in which water can be wasted. This will encourage staff to conserve water and report leaks.

International examples
The following case studies represent a selection of the successful water conservation measures that have been undertaken by hotels around the world. These case studies are taken from the Green Hotelier magazine (Autumn, 1995 issue), published by the International Hotel Environment Initiative.

*Please note that the financial savings identified in these case studies are based on the local water charges and purchasing costs available in the country of the project. Therefore, the savings identified will vary when applied in the New Zealand context.

Low Cost Option
Towel washing cards for guests
Many properties around the world are offering their guests the choice of reusing their towels for a second night, as they would typically do at home.
The result of this initiative for the Lenox Hotel, Boston was annual savings of $24,000 from reduced water use, wastewater, energy and chemical costs.

Investment Options

1. Installing dual flush, low consumption units
   The Marriot Marquis in New York City replaced 1,800 traditional flush toilets with new low-consumption units, reducing consumption by 20 million gallons of water annually. Annual savings were $70,000, through reduced water and wastewater bills.
2. Laundry water conservation system
   The Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers has installed a new water conservation system in the laundry which saves 60% of the 19 million gallons previously used. With the combined water, waste water, energy and chemical savings the new equipment will be paid for in 18 months
3. Recovery of wastewater for irrigation, public toilets and cooling towers.
   The Hotel Intercontinental, Seoul, recovers wastewater from the sinks and showers of guestrooms and gymnasium for treatment and ultimate reuse on the site for irrigation, toilets and cooling towers. This substantial project gained savings of 81,000m3 the equivalent of US$74,640.

Who deals with my waste?

Other links:

• TIANZ
• Green Globe 21