Page 39: of Marine News Magazine (January 2020)

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WATER USAGE

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By Klaus Reichardt n land, one of the most effective ways to reduce • Evaluating how and when vegetation is irrigated water consumption is to conduct a “water au- if the facility is landscaped dit,” which involves analyzing a building’s wa- • Inspection of restroom ? xtures; this is crucial ter use, discovering where potential water sav- because, in most facilities, this is where the most

O ings are possible, and implementing a cost-effective plan to signi? cant amounts of water are used (possible turn those possible water savings into reality. exception, if the facility is landscaped)

Typically, a water audit involves: • Identifying where water is brought into a The goal of all these steps is to not only ? nd leaks but to facility (looking for leaks before water is delivered) determine if water no longer needs to be used in a speci? c • Location of all water-using ? xtures and systems area of a facility; where water is being wasted; and in the as well as drainage systems case of restrooms, if new ? xtures can be installed that use • Gathering two years of water utility bills, less water than those in use or use no water at all.

checking them, not necessarily for charges, Water audits are not necessarily new. However, with but water usage to establish a benchmark drought and water shortages in so many parts of the world, • Evaluating water use ? uctuations; a spike could as well as the increased cost of water around the globe, they indicate a leak somewhere in the water infrastructure are used far more frequently today than ever before. • Conducting a walk-through of the entire building Before going further, we should explain a term common- with plumbing plans in hand, if possible. The ly used when discussing water audits and that is water “ef? - goal here is to locate all pipes, ? xtures, and ciency.” This does not refer to water conservation, which is other water-delivering or water-removing systems typically a short-term reduction in water consumption, for in the facility instance, during a drought. Instead, water ef? ciency refers 39 www.marinelink.com MN