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Unless you truly just want to pass the audit, I prefer to call it a 'water savings assessment' only way study will save you water is if it shows where you can save water, what you will need to do, how much it will cost and how that compares to your pre-agreed implementation criteria.
Unless you truly just want to pass the audit, I prefer to call it a 'water savings assessment' only way study will save you water is if it shows where you can save water, what you will need to do, how much it will cost and how that compares to your pre-agreed implementation criteria.
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Unless you truly just want to pass the audit, I prefer to call it a 'water savings assessment' only way study will save you water is if it shows where you can save water, what you will need to do, how much it will cost and how that compares to your pre-agreed implementation criteria.
Hak Cipta:
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Format Tersedia
Unduh sebagai PDF, TXT atau baca online dari Scribd
All too often water savings are identified but are never implemented. Guenter Hauber-Davidson examines how a water audit – a concept he loathes – can be done in a different way.
S tart with the end in mind. Unless you
truly just want to pass the audit, I prefer to call it a ‘water savings assessment’, which the project? What will the assessment criteria be? Are there initiatives with a special ‘emotional attachment’ – does the to verify success, to whom and why? Typical verification options include none really required (visual or perception only), reflects far better that this is the beginning CEO want a rainwater tank, for example? checking the water bill, via a dedicated of the journey rather than the end. sub-meter, by usage studies or through You don’t want to end up with yet 3. Plan for beyond the ‘audit’ process checks. another report that vanishes in your inbox Assuming you are doing a water savings Last, ask what is the baseline you are or is buried at the bottom of the pile. The assessment because you want to save reporting against – it is amazing how only way the study will save you water is water – not just achieve compliance – ask complex this gets once you delve into it. if it shows where you can save water, what yourself: What is going to happen once I you will need to do, how much it will cost, have identified where I use more water 4. What’s important, what detail? how much it will save in total and how that than is needed and what I could do to Depending on why you are assessing compares to your pre-agreed your consumption, you could implementation criteria. So how directly hone in on some to go about it? ‘prime suspects’. Is there suspected leakage? Is there a 1. Define the goals process using a majority of the Why are you doing it? There are water? Do you know of major plenty of possible drivers: for inefficiencies? Is the purpose to compliance, to meet corporate identify a rainwater harvesting sustainability goals/water scheme or connection points reduction policy, to achieve a to a recycled water scheme? NABERS or Green Star rating, Knowing these answers can because everybody else does it, save a lot of time and money to meet stakeholder expecta- by concentrating on the bits tions, for PR/public image, to that are important. Conversely, save costs, to overcome water Partial sample input screen from a site water balance model. if you need to reconcile and restrictions, to ensure adequate Sample office main meter understand water consumption supplies, to enable a future right across the site, you will development. need to prepare an assessment Unless you are clear on these of all water uses. Cumulative consumption (kL)
issues, you cannot direct a study
to give you the outcomes you 5. Plan for the water Hourly flow rate (kL)
want – an action plan than can savings assessment
and will be implemented because Before you rush to the site, it matches pre-agreed goals. stay in the office and let your fingers and eyes do the 2. Management buy-in walking. Get the water bills for Unless there is internal support Baseline the past 12 months or, even flow: all the way to the CEO to get possible better, three years. Where leak serious about water savings goals applicable, get the actual bills, – and have them defined and not just the entry from the written down – you will come Typical data obtained through a temporary logging exercise. accounting system. Is water across stumbling blocks all the billed on actual metered usage way along. reduce my potable water consumption? data or on a pro rata split (such as net It is far easier to resolve these up front Where will the money come from? Who lettable area, NLA)? Does this cover the and play a hypothetical ‘what if’ scenario. will champion it? What internal resources entire site – or more or less than it? Does What if the report identifies we can save will be available? How will the project be any sub-metering or even smart metering 20 per cent of our water and our costs at delivered (internal, nominated suppliers, data exist already? a payback of 4.5 years? Who will pay for turnkey or traditional through detailed Get at least the general layout and it? Where in the budget is this money? design, specification and tendering, or a hydraulic plans that you can readily access. How will I have to plan ahead to have it mixture of any of these)? Fire evacuation plans can be valuable. Get allocated for next year? Who will approve Importantly, also ask how you will need a Google Earth shot (or another up to date
44 :: WME magazine NOVEMBER 2008
aerial). Find out about any site develop- you’d be surprised how often it just does from replacing potable water with sources ment plans and check if there are existing not appear to make sense. such as rain or stormwater to recycling and water management plans. Begin preparing sewer mining. Make sure you have a suitable a simplified water supply schematic (single Optional: Additional data/assessment demand matched with the water you intend line diagram) and refine it after the site If you can and if the task warrants it, it is to supply. The water balance from Step 7 visit. highly recommended to undertake at least will now come in handy. Finally, work out who’s who in the zoo. a temporary (2-4 week) smart metering Look at left field ideas too, such as Spend effort on this as it is the first part of exercise for at least a few key streams. firewater testing. building the all important buy-in. Using mini loggers attached to the main or key sub-meters provides a trace of the 10. Summary and implementation plan 6. Do the water savings assessment water consumption. Now it is time to cost the water conserva- Most of you would have already finished It provides conclusive evidence of any tion measures and compare them to the your ‘audit’ by now. Did you notice that major leaks and highlights key water associated savings in water, energy and we are half way through before we are consumption patterns to help identify other costs. Remember also to take into even going to site? For good reason. If you additional savings. This measure is account additional costs, such as the special skipped straight to here, we recommend especially recommended for streams with cleaning and maintenance for waterless you go back and read Steps 1-5. an erratic, unusually high or not clearly urinals. Now start planning the visit with relevant understood water consumption pattern. Then list all water conservation measures people. Meet the facility manager (if that’s The ‘el cheapo’ method of checking for considered with their costs, savings and not yourself) and anybody else who has leaks – by having the security guard read the payback. You may want to group them been around the site for some time and meters at night when no flow is expected into Tier 1 and 2 categories to show knows something about its water use. This or by obtaining some overnight readings – what can be achieved at a more common could be the cleaner telling you that leaking all too often just does not work. payback period versus more exotic options toilets take forever to get fixed. Gather that might have merit based on grounds whatever information you can extract from 8. Key performance indicators other than payback. Or they could be those sources relevant to site water usage, Treat them with caution. A ‘good’ KPI grouped to show the measures required behaviour and attitude. may not necessarily mean the facility is for a certain NABERS Office Water rating Assess all water using fixtures. Where water efficient, nor does a ‘bad’ KPI neces- versus the associated cost. possible, measure flow and flush rates. For sarily mean it is inefficient. Properly used Finish off your water savings assessment amenity facilities and kitchenettes, this is though, KPIs can be a valuable tool to help with a clear forward action and implemen- easy; it’s harder for industrial processes and benchmark your operation as long as you tation plan. If you followed these 10 steps, ‘wet’ tenancies such as food outlets, restau- know where your site is different. Ideal are you would have this information already rants, health clubs and the like. You need similar facilities within one organisation, anyway. Now it’s just a matter of framing to look in detail at machine specifications such as a number of commercial kitchens your report around it to turn it into a call and the type of operational requirements. or laundries. for action statement. Happy saving! Check fixtures such as pre-rinse spray The finer or ‘grainier’ the KPI, the better. guns, woks, and dish and glass washers as A KPI for water consumption in an office Guenter Hauber-Davidson is MD of Water well. Observe general water use practices. building as kL/m2 NLA per year without Conservation Group, one of Australia’s Visit cooling towers and assess their knowledge of whether there is a food court largest water savings specialists working with operation in terms of water (and energy) or the occupancy rate, for example, is less large water users through consulting, turnkey efficiency. Check the maintenance records. useful than comparing water consump- delivery and smart metering. Irrigation use is another specialty area in its tion through the cooling towers within own right. the same city and type of buildings as L/m2 per year. 7. Prepare a site water balance This step could be the hardest and may 9. Identify conservation measures require assistance from a water savings Now is the time to look at anything that engineer. The problem is that water has the potential to save water. Cast your consumption is almost always a two or net wide and think outside the square. three-dimensional assessment; it is usage Sometimes energy savings can be the easiest rate multiplied by duration multiplied and most cost effective way to save water; by frequency. Focus on the key areas cooling towers are a classic example. identified in Step 4. Anything goes, from simple You want to gain a good understand- efficiency measures starting with ing on where much of your water, and flow controls for taps, water therefore costs, go. You might be lucky and efficient toilets and urinals, to already have some smart and sub-metering. process changes (think cleaner This will help a lot, but can also make the production), from addressing task more difficult as you will now need abnormal water consumption and leaks to reconcile various flow accounts – and to user awareness and behavioural changes,