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Get cash incentives to cut water use

Owners of buildings served by utilities in the Saving Water Partnership can get financial assistance to upgrade.

Upgrade older equipment and fixtures

Kitchen equipment

  • About food steamers
    Standard boiler-based steam cookers draw hot water the entire time the equipment is on. This water that you have paid for and paid to heat is going down the drain while the equipment is on. In addition, more water is wasted to cool down the hot water as it goes down the drain. An inefficient six-pan steamer could be using over 170,000 gallons of water per year.
  • About dish washers
    ENERGY STAR commercial dishwashers are on average 25% more water efficient and 25% more energy efficient and will use an average of 1,000 fewer gallons per week than old inefficient commercial dishwashers. In addition, ENERGY STAR models use significantly less energy, mainly by heating water more efficiently.
  • About ice machines
    Ice machines from the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) third-tier list of machines have air-cooled condensers and are very efficient making the ice with little water waste. These machines could save you up to $1,000 per year on your water bills and will virtually eliminate water discharged down the sewer, for even greater utility bill savings.

Refrigeration systems
In almost all cases, single-pass use of water for cooling is highly wasteful and expensive. Many water-saving options are available – from replacing the equipment with air-cooled equipment, re-circulating the water through a remote refrigeration unit, or tapping an existing source of chilled re-circulating water.

Flush valve toilets and urinals
High-efficiency commercial flush-valve toilets have achieved excellent performance and customer satisfaction. WaterSense urinals have been independently tested and certified to meet specific criteria as established by the EPA WaterSense program.

Tank toilets
Premium toilets (pdf) use 1.1 gpf or less and are the most efficient WaterSense models. WaterSense toilets  use 1.28 gallons per flush (gpf) or less and have been independently tested and certified to meet specific criteria as established by the EPA WaterSense program. Premium toilets use 20% less water and remove 70% more solid waste, compared to regular WaterSense toilets.

Cooling Tower Improvements

Cooling Tower Workshop
The Cool Tunes Manual and workshop series that took place in 2010 and 2011 provided attendees with cutting edge information and hands-on experience with efficiently-operated cooling towers. Information on the following items can be found in greater detail in the Cool Tunes Manual and in selected links and videos from the workshop series.

  • Get your free Cool Tunes Manual (pdf)
  • See footage from the workshop’s main presenter, Michael Groh.

    Empower your guests

    Many hotel guests look for opportunities to reduce their water and energy consumption while on vacation, so provide environmentally-friendly choices:

    • Offer guests the opportunity to request clean sheets and towels as needed, rather than automatically providing new ones daily.
    • Encourage guests to set air-conditioning and heating units on low when needed and turn them off when they’re not in the room.

    Save in the kitchen and bathroom

    Most of your indoor water use is in the kitchen and bathroom so embrace the many opportunities to save water and money in these areas:

    • Reduce dishwashing loads and ice-maker loads by serving customers water only when they ask for it. Ask a customer before automatically refilling their glass.
    • Use a pressure regulator to reduce the water volume in the dishwasher. Only use as much water as the manufacturer specifies. Check that water only flows when the dishes enter the machine.
    • When manually washing dishes, fill the second sink for dipping dishes and equipment, instead of using running water. Install manual triggers on all sink spray hoses.
    • Install foot pedal or other manual controls so that garbage disposal water only runs when needed.
    • Replace showerheads and faucet nozzles (aerators) with WaterSense certified ones.
    • Consider donating edible food and signing up for food waste collection and eliminate the use of a garbage disposal.

    Contact

    Contact Commercial Water Conservation Program Manager, Natasha Bailey, at natasha.bailey@seattle.gov or (206) 733-9137.

    Resources

    Cool Tunes Manual (pdf) – See savings through consistent monitoring of chemical, conductivity, water make-up and blowdown, any unusual spike in water consumption.

    High-Efficiency Kitchen Equipment Find EnergyStar kitchen equipment.