BREWPUB WATER CONSERVATION
The Guide to Water Conservation and
Sustainable Practices in Industrial Kitchens
What is the purpose of this
guide?
The purpose of this guide is to assist new and
existing brewpub owners and managers with
establishing and maintaining a water conservation
program.
WHY CONSERVE WATER?
Water is a significant part of restaurant operations.
It is used for cooking, cleaning, food production,
customer consumption, and sometimes for
landscaping.
Water conservation practices in restaurants are
important environmentally, legally & economically.
Why conserve water?
ENVIRONMENTAL REASONS
Between 1950 and 2000, the U.S. demand for water more than
tripled.The increased demand for water has put further stress on water
supplies, adversely affecting both human health and the environment.
Energy used to both treat and heat water releases carbon emissions into
the atmosphere & increases carbon footprint.
Experts predict that by 2013, more than 70 percent of the U.S. states will
experience some type of local, regional or state-wide water shortage. By
2025, 4 billion people -- about half the world’s population -- will live in
'severe water stress' conditions.
Why Conserve Water?
LEGAL REASONS
The Great Lakes Compact requires all water-intensive businesses within
the watershed to implement water conservation practices.
Why Conserve Water?
ECONOMICAL REASONS
Many water utilities will be increasing fees by 25% or more by next year.
Water consumption can also have a direct relationship to energy
consumption. For restaurants, conserving hot water is a smart idea
because you trim down two bills: water and the electricity or natural gas
used to heat it.
Using less water = spending less money. Saving water saves the bottom
line.
Low Cost Solutions
Water & Power Audits
Employee Training
Low Water Landscaping
Regular Maintenance
Garbage Disposal/Compost
WATER & POWER AUDITS
Have your water or public utilities provider conduct
an audit of your facility’s water use.
Have your power company audit appliances and
equipment that heat water.
EMPLOYEE TRAINING
Increase employee awareness and efficiency.
Educate employees on any measures suggested by the water utilities
company as a result of the water audit.
Appoint a “water conservation ambassador.”
Develop a water conservation incentive program.
Train employees to immediately scrape & wipe plates. Compost paper/food
scraps.
Use squeegee scrapers, avoid rags which soak up H2O.
Shut off water-cooled air conditioning units when not needed.
EMPLOYEE TRAINING
Turn off preparation faucets that are not in use.
Avoid using running water to thaw or rinse food. Instead, gradually thaw
frozen food in a refrigerator. Wash vegetables in ponded water; do not let
water run in preparation sink.
Implement a water conservation policy for food servers. Serve water in bars
and restaurants only upon request to reduce wash and ice loads.
Soak dirty pots and pans instead of rinsing them in running water. Presoak
with sustainable cleansers: use baking soda to pre-soak pots, vinegar to cut
grease.
MEASURE soaps. Soap overuse leaves film and uses more water.
LOW WATER LANDSCAPING
Landscape with drought resistant plants. Use ground cover or mulch around
landscape plants to prevent evaporation.
Develop a water catchment system and reuse (i.e. rain barrel)
Apply water, fertilizer, or pesticides to landscape only when needed rather
than on an automatic schedule.
Be sure all hoses have shut-off nozzles.
Use a broom, rather than a hose, to clear sidewalks, driveways, loading
docks and parking lots.
Water early in the morning or in the evening when wind and evaporation are
lowest.
REGULAR MAINTENANCE
***A leaking faucet can waste up to 1000 gallons of
water a week - that's over $300 lost per year.***
Learn how to read your water meter. Monitor, record and post rates of
restaurant water use. If possible, Read it twice a day for early detection of
water consumption spikes that may indicate leaks or other high use
problems.
Make repairs or replace equipment when rate changes indicate problems.
Create a checklist for possible “leak areas” (e.g. toilets, faucets etc.) in your
facility. Appoint an employee to check those areas regularly.
Review program every 12 months and identify additional opportunities to
improve water savings.
Garbage Disposal
Disconnect your garbage disposal. Scrape food waste into compost. This
saves water and energy.
Set up your own composting system for fruit and vegetable waste. This will
save water and energy.
Donate composted food waste to local farms. Compost benefits the soil.
Evaluate reuse of rinse water for garbage disposer or scrapper trough.
INVESTMENT SOLUTIONS
DISH ROOM EQUIPMENT UPGRADES
RESTROOM UPGRADES
REFRIGERATION UPGRADES
MISC UPGRADES
DISH ROOM UPGRADES
Check with manufacturer to see if dishwasher spray heads can be replaced
with more efficient heads or if flow regulators can be installed without
voiding manufacturer sanitation warranty.
Replace existing spray valves with efficient, high-velocity models.
Reduce the water volume in the dishwasher by use of a pressure regulator.
Check to make sure the dishwasher is not using more water than the
manufacturer specifies.
DISH ROOM UPGRADES
Install manual triggers on all sink spray hoses so that water is used on
demand only.
When manually washing dishes, use the three compartment sink for dipping
dishes and equipment, instead of using running water.
In conveyer type washer, ensure that water flow stops when there are no
dishes in the washer. Install a sensing arm or ware gate that will detect the
presence of dishes and shut off water when there are no dishes on the
conveyor.
RESTROOM UPGRADES
Many restroom faucets use 2.5 to 5 gallons per minute. Low-flow faucets
are affordable and can reduce the flow to under 1.5 gallons per minute.
Post signs in restrooms/lavatories to remind customers and staff to not
dispose any non-flushable items in toilet. Any material other than toilet
paper will force the septic tank to use more water to flush the material down
the drain.
Replace existing toilets and urinals with plumbing code conforming high
efficiency toilet (HET) or ultra low flush (ULF) models.
REFRIGERATION UPGRADES
Retrofit once-through water cooled refrigeration units, air conditioners, and
ice machines by using temperature controls and a re-circulating chilled
water loop systems.
UPGRADE to an air-cooled ICE MACHINE: Water-cooled ice machines
use nearly 150 gallons of condenser water to produce 100 pounds of ice,
plus 20 gallons of water to make the ice. Air-cooled ice machines use only
the 20 gallons necessary to make 100 pounds of ice. Water savings
estimated at 150 gallons per every 100 pounds of ice produced daily.
MISC UPGRADES
Install hands-free or foot activated valves and faucets
Install on-demand, point-of-use hot water dispensers to eliminate or reduce
the need to run water at faucets; choose a unit that does not require a
constantly running recirculation pump
Install automatic shutoff faucets for bar sinks
WATER SAVINGS
MEASUREMENT TOOLS
Pre-Rinse Spray Valve Calculator: http://www.fishnick.com/tools/watercost
This online tool from the Food Service Technology Center estimates the
amount of water and money you save with low-flow pre-rinse spray
valves and other water conserving devices.
Low-flow spray valves can save a restaurant up to $1,000 a year,
according to the Food Service Technology Center.
WaterWiser Drip Calculator:
http://www.awwa.org/awwa/waterwiser/dripcalc.cfm
This online tool from the American Water Works Association will help you
calculate the amount of water wasted through leakage.
WATER SAVINGS
MEASUREMENT TOOLS
WATERGY Software:
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/information/download_watergy.html
This free software from the US Department of Energy analyzes a
facility’s potential water and associated energy savings. The business
inputs utility data (energy and water cost and consumption data for the
most recent twelve months) and operations data (number and kind of
water consuming/moving devices and their water consumption and/or
flow rates).
The software estimates water and energy annual savings, as well as
costs and payback times for various conservation methods.
CASE STUDIES
Dishware Sensing Gate: The installation of dishware-sensing gate in
dishwashers gives Anthony's Pier 4 in Boston, MA the opportunity to save
approximately 225,000 gallons of water annually. The initial investment is $1,200
for the device and $2,700 is saved per year on heating water costs. The payback
time is just five months.
Air-Cooled Machine: SFPUC recently executed a contract to replace watercooled ice machines with air-cooled machines at the Fairmont Hotel. The
conversion will save the hotel over $100,000 and conserve about 24 acre feet of
water annually.
Urinals instead of Toilet:By replacing the seventeen flushometer toilets and
seven flushometer urinals from Anthony's Pier 4 in Boston, MA with ULF models,
they saved 1.1 million gallons of water worth $8,500 annually. The project cost was
$6,700 and the payback of the initial investment was less than ten months.
Source: San Francisco Department of Public Health
CASE STUDY EXAMPLES
Case Study Example #1
Bob the Chef's, in Boston's South End, can save an estimated 51,000
gallons of heated water per year by replacing their prewash spray head with
a low flow model. This measure results in a savings of $540 in water and
energy costs. With an initial investment of $200 the payback is realized in
under five months.
Case Study Example #2
Anthony's Pier 4 in Boston has an opportunity to save approximately
225,000 gallons of water annually with the installation of a dishware sensing
gate in one of their dishwashers. The initial cost of the device is $1,200, and
the value of heated water saved is $2,700 per year. The payback occurs in
approximately five months.
Source: Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
CASE STUDY EXAMPLES
Case Study Example #3
Pillar House in Newton has a water cooled ice machine and two condensers
for a walk-in cooler and freezer. If these water-cooled units were converted
to air-cooled, the annual water savings from this measure would be
approximately 1.04 million gallons of water valued at $5,820. The additional
electrical cost is $375 per year for a net savings of $5,445 per year and a
payback of the initial investment is realized in 1.3 years.
Case Study Example #4
The Hillttop Steak House in Saugus has three water-cooled refrigerators
and two ice machines that use once through cooling. By incorporating this
equipment into a recirculating closed loop cooling system the restaurant can
save an estimated 5.3 million gallons of water per year valued at $26,500.
The cost of this measure is approximately $27,000 which results in a
payback of about one year.
Source: Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
CASE STUDY EXAMPLES
Case Study Example #5
Union House in Framingham has seven sinks that can be fitted with 1.5
gallon per minute (gpm) aerators which would result in an annual water and
energy savings of $170 dollars. The cost to retrofit the sinks is around $20,
and payback for this simple measure is under two months.
Case Study Example #6
Another water saving opportunity for Anthony's Pier 4 involves replacing
seventeen flushometer toilets and seven flushometer urinals with ULF
models. The project cost is $6,700 with an annual water savings of 1.1
million gallons worth $8,500. This results in a payback of less than ten
months.
Source: Massachusetts Water Resources Authority