Take a moment to imagine the view of Earth from space. The blue marble we call home is almost entirely covered in water. In fact, 71% of our planet’s surface is made up of the liquid. It’s everywhere. But there’s a huge asterisk – only 1% of it is fit for use by humans. That’s right. The world’s seven and a half billion people rely on just 1% of Earth’s water to survive. But as the global population continues to climb, and climate change warms the planet, we humans will have to contend with the very real challenge of water stress. Water stress occurs when demand for water exceeds the available supply.
Educating property owners and tenants on water conservation is important, but to truly combat the threat we must take steps to reduce the amount of water we waste. One of the biggest wasters of water can be found in every office building, school, hotel, hospital, restaurant, and other commercial and multifamily facility – toilets.
Old and inefficient toilets are the main culprits when residential buildings rack up massive water bills. These water-hoggers sometimes use up to 5 gallons of water with every flush, far more than necessary to get the job done – and the buck doesn’t stop there. Showerheads and faucet aerators are guilty of excess usage too. Facility owners and managers that are searching for ways to decrease their water usage should be zeroing in on the old, outdated toilets and fixtures on their properties. Studies show switching to high-efficiency toilets, showerheads and aerators aren’t just good for the planet; it can also yield a significant return on investment.
Let’s take a look at a case study of the Hilton Palacio del Rio Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, which took advantage of the WaterSaver Hotel program in 2007. The program paid the overhead costs to replace the hotel’s inefficient toilets, aerators, and showerheads with advanced, high-efficiency models in 470 guest rooms. This simple move saved the Hilton Palacio $160,000 per year in water, sewer, and energy expenses.
For another example, we turn to the Woodland Falls Apartment Rentals in Smyrna, Georgia. The multifamily property implemented the Niagara Green City™ program to retrofit inefficient toilets. In February, the innovative solutions from Niagara’s UHET™ Water-Saving Kit, including the ultra-high-efficiency Original Stealth® Toilet which uses under one gallon of water (0.8 gallons per flush to be exact) — all with minimal impact to the residents. Woodland Falls Apartments saves 300,000 gallons of water per month and enjoys monthly savings of $2,907.00 in utility costs. This translates to a monthly ROI of $1,493.81 following the upgrades.
Water-saving techniques do not stop at what kind of products you use. Many property owners take advantage of free educational resources that help instruct tenants about better water-saving habits. EPA’s WaterSense program is the best leading authority on the most up-to-date water saving techniques and technology. Implementing their tips and tricks has a direct and positive impact on the environment while simultaneously reducing utility bills.
Today it’s clear that a coordinated water conservation plan reduces the risk of water stress for everyone – while improving ROI and cap rate for property owners. By educating ourselves and replacing inefficient toilets, showerheads, and faucet aerators with newer models designed for maximum water conservation, we can eliminate waste (literally) and realize cost-savings faster than ever before. Forward-looking solutions like any one of Niagara’s UHET Water-Saving Kits are engineered to have an immediate impact, so the only question left is why haven’t you started?
Wonder what your ROI could be by switching to high-efficiency plumbing products? Check out our water-saving calculator today and see for yourself!
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