It’s important for us to understand the needs of our planet – there are only so many resources we can use on it, so we should endeavour to use these as efficiently as possible. One of the most precious of those resources is water, and this is particularly pertinent in the warmer months or if your area enters a period of drought.
Yet we should always be mindful of our water usage, no matter the time of year or our current situation. While we may try to do our bit when we’re at home, there are tasks we can also carry out as businesses and industries. Here are some items you could consider implementing for your area of work.
Change your equipment
Using water for cooling your equipment can be one of the largest drains on water systems – so making the switch to air-cooled systems will have a great effect on your water consumption. So the water you’re using, which may have been filtered and cleaned for your local community, will go into the atmosphere as steam rather than being drinking water.
Air-cooled technology could be a practical and efficient alternative for you, too. Looking at the example of the Pacific Power and Light Company, it had a 90% reduction in per-minute water use when it swapped its water-cooled systems to air ones at its Wyodak generating station in Wyoming.
Use grey water
This type of reclamation is about getting the most out of water by reusing it. Water in many commercial buildings has been thought of as clean water going in, and sewage going out – yet grey water is between the two. It’s tap water that’s been soiled and isn’t sanitary, but it’s generally disease-free and isn’t toxic.
Grey water reclamation uses the potential of using water again instead of putting it back into the sewage system. Once treated, it can be reused for tasks such as site irrigation and toilet flushing.
Harvest rainwater
This can be a viable option if your building has a large roof area and also demands a lot of non-potable water. How you do this, and how you store it, should meet your demands of how the water will be used. These can include car washing, laundry, and even ornamental water features.
There are a number of ways you can store this water, which include using Heritage steel tanks. Not only are these used on commercial properties, but also at mining sites. You could get an additional 22% of your tank capacity a year by capturing rainwater from your roof.
Educate your employees
We may not intend to waste water, but it can be difficult for people to know what they’re doing wrong without conservation education. You could implement an initiative to engage your employees, so they can manage and use water in the workplace conscientiously. For instance, you could set up a challenge: encourage people to get involved, and put updates on the scheme in your company newsletter or blog.
