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Water Conservation Tips
By implementing the following steps, your company can reduce water and save money.
Understand Your Water Flow
Monitor water use throughout your facility and establish a baseline. Measuring wastewater volumes helps you identify areas where water use can be reduced and helps you plan water conservation tactics. Water use may differ between shifts. Monitoring during each shift creates an accurate picture of your overall water use.
Flow meters can quickly indicate water overuse. Some meters on the market use circular chart recorders to measure water use in gallons per minute over a 24-hour period. Fluctuations may indicate leaks, unnecessary water use, or inefficient equipment. Monitoring water use also raises employee awareness about conservation opportunities.
Case Study: Advance Circuits
To reduce water flow, Advance Circuits of Roseville installed flow meters to monitor water flow. Understanding its water use enabled the plant to focus water reduction efforts. Advance Circuits optimized flow sensors and improved operating and maintenance procedures. These changes cut water flow by 10.9 million gallons a year. The company saved $38,000 annually and avoided a sewer access charge (SAC) of $225,000.
Reuse Water
Consider reusing some of the water in your facility. Water reuse is using wastewater or reclaimed water from one application for use in another. Non-contact cooling water is ideal for water reuse if process demands match supply. Water recycling, using water again for the application that it was originally used in, is also a good option. Before reusing or recycling water, be sure it meets your water quality requirements and identify any treatment steps that may be needed.
Intern Project: Technical Plating
Technical Plating, with assistance from a MnTAP intern, used three strategies to reduce and reuse water: improved rinsing efficiency, designed and developed a system for internal barrel rinsing, and instituted rinse wastewater reuse after filtration. This small plating job shop in Brooklyn Park reduced water demand by 2.6 million gallons per year saving $7,100 annually in water costs and eliminating a one-time SAC fee of $44,000.
Install Clean-in-Place System
A clean-in-place (CIP) system eliminates the need to dismantle equipment for cleaning and can help carefully control water and chemical use at your facility. Many production facilities manually run CIP systems, but fully automated CIPs are more consistent and typically more effective. Using final CIP rinses as the pre-rinse for the next cleaning cycle can further cut the amount of water used and wastewater generated.
Intern Project: A Minnesota Dairy
With the help of a MnTAP intern, a Minnesota dairy fine-tuned the computer programming that ran its CIP. The company decreased water use by nearly 8.5 million gallons annually, saving over $20,000. The dairy also decreased its BOD loading by 2.5%, saving an additional $6,000 per year.
Use High-pressure, Low-volume Wet Cleaning Systems
Before using wet cleaning methods, dry clean as much as possible to recover excess product and by-products. For wet cleanup, high-pressure, low-volume cleaning systems can help cut the amount of wastewater at your facility. Using the higher-pressure cleaning systems, employees are more likely to use less water during cleanup to achieve specified cleanliness.
Case Study: Sparta Foods
Switching from garden hoses to high-pressure washing equipment, cutting back on water use, and improving housekeeping procedures helped Sparta Foods in New Brighton reduce water use by 1.9 million gallons, avoid SAC fees and save the company $20,200.
Optimize Nozzle Use
Using automatic shutoff nozzles can reduce water use by preventing water from flowing when it is not needed. Optimize the fitting sizes of nozzles to reduce flow rates and use the smallest nozzle needed to maximize efficiency. Use the correct angle and spacing to maximize water hitting its target.
Case Study: Marigold Foods
Using an automatic shutoff nozzle on its truck washing hose saved Marigold Foods in Minneapolis between 3,000 and 6,000 gallons of water per day.
Prevent Leaks
Prevent water loss at your facility by finding and repairing all leaks. As part of a preventive maintenance program, make a checklist of all potential sources of leaks and conduct weekly inspections of equipment such as hoses, nozzles, tanks and valves. Upgrading old production equipment can prevent leaks. Preventing leaks often saves money and increases efficiency. If leaks do occur, repair them immediately to prevent further water loss.
Case Study: Schroeder Milk
Switching to a smaller nozzle size and repairing a leak in a 1/4 inch line saved Schroeder Milk in St. Paul a total of 4,380 gallons of water per day.
Install Valves
Use control valves to stop water flow when production stops. Solenoid valves, which directly control the on/off flow or regulate the flow rate, can be used to stop water flow when production stops.
Intern Summary: Hoffman Engineering
Hoffman Engineering in Anoka cut water use by 3.4 million gallons per year to save nearly $32,000 annually. The improvements included installing a pressure gauge and control valve on the mist spray rinse and installing an automated conductivity meter and control valve to limit the total dissolved solids concentration.
Implement Employee Training and Incentives
Implementing programs to stop water flow during non-production times will reduce your water use. Use foot pedals or on/off switches in a production setting. Hang tags can be used on a production line to remind employees to turn off water after the last product.
Employees may need to be shown how to use water efficiently. Install process controls to make water use easier to manage. Implement a training program to teach employees how to efficiently use water in their work areas. Include information in the training on current water use and water costs. Create incentives for employees that identify areas to reduce water use.
Treat water as a raw material with a real cost. If your facility has different operating divisions, charge water use and treatment back to each division. This creates an incentive to optimize water use and maximize efficiency. Setting water conservation goals for your plant will encourage employees to take responsibility and reduce water use.
Additional Resources
For more information about water conservation review EPA Water Sense
For information about cutting phosphorus from your cleaning operation see MnTAP’s fact sheet, Phosphorus: Reducing Releases from Industrial Cleaning and Sanitizing Operations [#11].
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