Water Conservation

Greening Government Goal: "By June 30, 2012, the state of Colorado will reduce water consumption in state facilities by ten percent from state fiscal year 2005-06 baseline."

Actions and Strategies for State Agencies

Here are some suggestions from the Denver Water website to manage commercial and industrial water use. These suggestions were adapted from the U. S. Department of Energy white paper, Guidance to Establish Water Efficiency Improvement Goal for Federal Agencies, and can be adapted to any facility anywhere in the state.

• Educate employees, contractors, and any other users in your facility about the importance of water conservation.
• Perform a leak survey on your facility. This can be done after hours or on weekends by watching the meter for the facility. Sub-metering may be necessary to identify leaks in larger, more complex facilities. Additionally, Denver Water has specialized leak detection equipment to help customers find leaks.
• Perform a landscape watering efficiency study. Reducing turf or other irrigated areas can reduce mowing, fertilizing, waste removal, and water costs.
• Replace older toilets and urinals with new low-flow toilets and urinals. Denver Water offers rebates for both residential and commercial toilet replacement.
• Replace older faucet aerators and showerheads with new low-flow models.
• Regularly inspect, maintain, and repair your boiler systems. Consider installing a condensate return line on your boiler, if it does not already have one.
• Identify all single-pass flows in your facility. These flows are often associated with equipment cooling for pumps, compressors, ice machines, air conditioners, etc. Denver Water has an incentive program that will pay for a substantial portion of the typical replacement costs.
• Regularly inspect, maintain, and repair your cooling tower system. Increasing the cycles of concentration on your cooling tower can significantly reduce water usage. Denver Water has a cooling tower audit program, which will pay an engineering firm to evaluate the condition and operation of your cooling tower.
• Review historical water usage for your facility. Analyzing several years of consumption data will often identify undiscovered leaks or other process inefficiencies. View Your Water Use History.
• Perform a water audit on your facility. The primary purpose of a water audit is to make sure you can identify all of your water use.

Helpful Contacts

• The GEO Greening Government Program Manager
• Find your agency's Greening Government Council Representative

Denver Water customers may contact Denver Water for more information.