Pollution Prevention Fact Sheet: Cost Of Water

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

A pollution prevention fact sheet from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control on the cost of water.

Profits - they are every company's concern. But did you realize that some of your profits may be going down the drain - literally!

Water is one of the most used and washed resources in American industry. Some examples of this overuse include: allowing hoses to run when they are not in use, cleaning up wastes with water instead of brooms; and leaking faucets and hoses. This use and waste may be costing you and your company thousands, even millions of dollars each year.

Consider the following example for a company which uses 1,000,000 gallons per day. Reductions in water use can result in significant savings:

Blank Title	Current	10% Reduction	25% Reduction	50% Reduction
Water Use (gallons per day)	1,000,000	900,000	750,000	500,000
Water fee	$459,000	$413,100	$344,250	$229,500
Sewer Fee	$363,000	$326,700	$272,250	$181,500
Adjustment	$474,000	$426,600	$355,500	$237,000
Total Annual Cost	$1,296,000	$1,166,400	$972,000	$648,000
Annual Savings	Blank cell	$129,600	$324,000	$648,000

* Based on 1994 City of Dover Rates for 300 operating days/year

Consider this though - water is a raw material. Whether you use if as an ingredient in your process, for heating of cooling, or for clean-up. Raw materials cost money. What about companies whose water is supplied via their own groundwater wells, not by a municipal supply? They do not pay directly for water. However, there are other costs involved in water usage. The wells must be constructed and maintained, water must be pumped from the ground, throughout the facility, and to a treatment facility. To do so requires the use, and cost, of electricity. Additional, and possibly substantial, costs are incurred when water is heated or cooled.

Whether your water supply comes from a public supply or private well, there is the issue of wastewater treatment and disposal. If you do your own treatment, you already have a good idea of the assessed surcharges for discharging polluted water. In either case, treatment of polluted water is an expensive proposition.

In addition to the direct costs of water usage discussed, there are other costs created by excessive water use:

• 97% of this planet's water is found in it oceans. Only 3% is groundwater or surface water. Many of these freshwater supplies are being depleted at rapid rates. In fact, 25% of our nations groundwater is being used faster than it is being replaced. In southern Delaware, this can potentially lead to a serious problem - saltwater intrusion. This is the process that occurs when the fresh groundwater is depleted and replaced by saltwater. This is not a common occurrence, however, the potential for salt water intrusion does exist if the groundwater is not naturally replaced (generally by rainwater) in sufficient quantity.

• Many large consumers of water have begun to come under increased regulatory scrutiny. This can include stricter permitting criteria, higher charges for water usage, and increased penalties for exceeding discharge permit limits.

• A company may also bear costs if the public perceives them to be an environmentally unfriendly company. If a company is viewed as placing a burden on the local waste supply or wastewater treatment facility, thus driving up consumer costs, their public image could be damaged.

What You Can Do to Conserve Water

Now that the costs of water usage been discussed, the question arises. What can be done to decrease water usage?

First and foremost, there must be management commitment to solving the problem. Once management is committed, then the job of significant water conservation may begin. Here are some tips on getting started:

• Include water in your waste reduction efforts. Form a water conservation committee or workgroup. Include both management and line workers, as they will be the ones whom specific changes will affect the most.
  
• Evaluate water usage throughout the facility. Install meters and monitor flowrates in order to determine problem areas and those showing improvement.
  
• Set goals for water conservation. Determine realistic percentage reduction goals and make people aware of them.
  
• Educate all employees on the importance of water conservation. Start with the basics. Discuss what conservation is, why it is important to the company and the individual, benefits of reduction, personal responsibilities, etc.

• Reuse or recycle water where permitted. Ideas such as recycling chiller water or recycling waste water in waste flumes will reduce creation of new flows.
  
• Implement dry cleanup techniques wherever possible. In other words, don't use hoses as brooms.
  
• Install high pressure, low volume, automatic shut-off valves on hoses. This will reduce the amount of water used when wet cleanup is necessary.
  
• Don't let water run continuously unless necessary.
  
• Maintain water usage equipment. Preventative maintenance will cut down on unnecessary loses.
  
• Decrease lawn watering and viciously cleaning.