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It’s Not Too Late to Take the Plunge & Save Water

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Maybe your hotel is in an area impacted by drought and under water restrictions. Or it’s not, but drought is a concern for your guests, and you want to demonstrate your commitment to conservation. Or maybe you just want to save energy and money, but you’ve already addressed the low-hanging fruit. In any case, better managing water use is a viable strategy that saves resources while enhancing the guest experience.

Linen and towel reuse programs have long been a way for hotels to save water and energy. A recent study by the Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell University found that 79 to 88 percent of resort guests surveyed participate in these programs. These guests also favored water-saving fixtures, which were installed in 90 of the 100 resorts the center surveyed. However, the study found, these guests are still more driven by satisfaction—with the room, facilities, and food—than they are by sustainability when making reservations.

As you may know, EPA’s WaterSense program labels water-efficient plumbing and irrigation products that are independently certified to perform as well or better than standard models. In February 2014, WaterSense launched the H2Otel Challenge to encourage hotels to save water, energy, and operating costs by installing WaterSense labeled products and implementing other best management practices. The Challenge is still underway; hotels that take a pledge receive free tools, case studies, monthly tips, and technical webinars about saving water indoors and out.

To date, more than 800 facilities have signed up for the Challenge, from small boutique hotels to major chains and rustic cabins to luxurious resorts. Taking the Challenge does not require a specific water reduction goal, but hotels do commit to “ACT,” or:

•    Assess water use and savings opportunities;
•    Change products or processes and use less water; and
•    Track water savings progress.

Recorded webinars on topics from restrooms to restaurants and laundries to landscapes are available on the WaterSense website. Live technical webinars resumed recently with details about ways to assess, change, and track water use at your facility. Following are a few ideas to get started.

Assess: Try the WaterUSE Tool

To help H2Otel Challenge participants get a handle on where their water is going and evaluate options to reduce it, WaterSense created a Water Use and Savings Evaluation (WaterUSE) Tool and associated Water Assessment Worksheets. The tool allows owners or facility managers to identify and prioritize cost-effective water efficiency projects tailored to their hotel. Assessment involves three distinct steps:

1.    Gather water bills and other hotel-specific information;
2.    Inventory water-using fixtures, equipment, systems, and processes; and
3.    Establish a water balance to track where water goes.

You can start your inventory by walking through the hotel and using a printed or fillable copy of the Water Assessment Worksheets to identify possible ways to save water, from ice machines to swimming pools, looking at each piece of equipment or process that contributes to your facility’s water use.

After filling out the worksheets, enter the collected information in the WaterUSE Tool to evaluate the impact of changing products and/or processes with specific best management practices. Based on facility-specific information you enter, the WaterUSE Tool provides recommended best management practices and calculates potential water and cost savings for water-saving projects.

Change: Put WaterSense to Work

Once you have tried the WaterUSE Tool to prioritize water-saving opportunities, it’s a good idea to develop a water action plan to phase in improvements. If you have not implemented a towel and linen reuse program, the American Hotel and Lodging Assn estimates such a program can reduce loads of laundry washed by 17 percent, saving water, energy, and costs.

For additional savings, try replacing plumbing fixtures with WaterSense labeled models. If you’re not ready for a full restroom retrofit, just swap out your guestroom showerheads; in addition to using 20 percent less water than standard showerheads, WaterSense labeled models are independently certified for spray force and flow to ensure your guests’ satisfaction. If a hotel with 150 guestrooms replaced all of its older, inefficient toilets, showerheads, and faucets with WaterSense labeled models, it could save 730,000 gallons of water and more than $7,300 in water and energy costs annually.

Looking for more ideas? Check out these case studies or WaterSense at Work, a guide to best management practices for commercial and institutional facilities, including hotels. Or sign up for the H2Otel Challenge and receive invitations to regular webinars and monthly e-mails with water-saving tips.

Track: Measure to Better Manage

Finally, it’s important to examine results and evaluate program successes and areas for improvement. Evaluation methods include:

•    Using the Energy Star Portfolio Manager to track progress and compare water use over time.
•    Reviewing results and revising your water management action plan as needed.
•    Checking water bills and meter/submeter readings to verify water savings were achieved.
•    Recognizing employees and milestones to keep momentum going, and contacting WaterSense if you would like your hotel’s water saving efforts to be featured in a case study.

For more information about the H2OTEL Challenge, visit the WaterSense website.

Tara O’Hare is an Environmental Protection Specialist with EPA who runs the WaterSense H2Otel Challenge.

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