America is in the middle of a wake-up call when it comes to water usage and costs—an issue that has long-term implications for hotel properties. This past summer saw the worst drought on record in the United States since the 1950s. And this wasn’t only in California, Nevada, or Arizona, states that have often been plagued with water shortages. No, these record-breaking droughts occurred in large sections of the Midwest. In the past these areas have occasionally experienced dry years, but they rarely suffer official droughts. In fact, 60 percent of the United States was actually labeled a drought area at one time or another during the summer months of 2012.
Some water experts fear that the United States may soon return to the conditions of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, when a combination of poor land management and severe drought resulted in a period of brutal dust storms that caused extensive ecological and agricultural damage. Trend watchers have also compared our growing water shortages to the oil crises of the 1970s, when Americans first began to realize that gasoline supplies might not always be cheap and plentiful.
Fortunately, what we are experiencing today is not another Dust Bowl, nor is it as severe as the oil crises—yet. But just as those events brought important issues to the attention of the nation, this summer was a wake-up call that the days of cheap, unlimited water are quickly coming to an end.
Pipeline Problems
The hotel/motel industry must be commended for the steps it has taken during the past decade to conserve water and use it more efficiently. Systems that reduce water consumption in laundry facilities are now in use in most medium and nearly all large properties. Rare is the new or newly renovated hotel guestroom without low-flow sinks, showerheads, and toilets. Low-flow urinals—or even no-flow fixtures, which are becoming increasingly common—are now found in hotel and motel properties throughout the country.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest causes of water waste in the United States is the utilities that deliver water—or at least that is the conclusion that has been drawn by Charles Fishman, author of The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water.*
The big problem in the United States is that a great deal of our water—amounting to literally millions of gallons per year—is wasted due to delivery and return systems that need updating. Fishman believes that as much as one in six gallons of water is lost as a result of leaky pipes that allow both fresh and contaminated water to sink into the ground.
Rising Water, Sewer Costs
Does this mean that all of the conservation and efficiency measures put in place by hotel properties and others have been in vain? Of course not. But we as a nation must face and address infrastructure problems in the near future, even if it means that water and sewer costs must rise. Those who have already taken steps to address these problems—such as decision makers in the hotel industry—may very well be looked to as leaders in water conservation and efficiency in the 21st century.
A frequent speaker and author on water conservation issues, Klaus Reichardt is founder and CEO of Waterless Co. Inc., Vista, Calif., a maker of waterless urinals and other restroom products. He founded the company in 1991 with the goal of establishing a new market segment in the plumbing fixture industry with water conservation in mind. He can be reached at Klaus@waterless.com.
*Free Press, April 2011
