Skyrocketing water bills are the stuff of every business owner’s nightmare. High water usage costs devour profits and can easily shatter even the best planned budget. Don’t despair! There are several creative and practical tools that can help your business slash water usage, and more importantly, minimize waste to promote sustainability of the earth’s potable water.

Know your water use patterns.

Without knowing where or how your water is being consumed, you can’t solve the problem. Perform a water audit to help identify your heaviest consumption areas and times. Compare monthly water bills and identify any spikes in usage and patterns. Monthly audits help businesses to quickly identify and address areas of concern.

Identify and repair faulty plumbing.

Your water bills at home soar from just one leaky faucet or running toilet. That effect multiplies on a much larger scale at your business. Regular maintenance checks, combined with prompt repairs of leaky or clogged pipes, will keep water use — and more importantly, water waste — to a minimum.

Replace and upgrade plumbing fixtures.

Despite your best efforts to conserve water, if your equipment isn’t in good working order, you will not reach your conservation goals. It’s important to replace eroded pipes and fixtures as soon as they are identified. Upgrading fixtures such as toilets and fixtures to water-conserving models can ease the pressure on your water bills.

Install real-time meters.

Smart meters are affordable, easily installed devices that will track your water use in real-time. When these meters are paired with an app, you can have immediate access to daily water consumption and identify patterns, peak usage times and potential areas of concern. 

Don’t overlook landscaping water demand.

Water usage for landscaping is a hot-button topic. Many areas of the country have imposed watering restrictions for both commercial and residential properties. The design of landscapes that focus on utilization of climate friendly greenery, efficiently controlled irrigation systems, rainwater harvesting, or drip irrigation can all increase sustainability, which reduces water usage.

Empower your employees to help achieve water reduction goals.

Develop a simple incentive program to entice your co-workers to participate in your water reduction program. Providing co-workers with guidelines for water conservation as it applies to their individual work area can be rewarding for them and for your bottom line.

Water sustainability is a must have for our planet to continue to thrive. Identifying areas of concern and implementing a plan to conserve your water usage and water waste helps your business and the environment. Contact us today to see how Pollock Orora can help contribute to your sustainability initiatives.