BMP #1 - Water Management Planning
A successful water management program starts with development of a comprehensive water management plan. This plan should provide clear information about how a facility uses its water, from the time it is piped onto the facility through its ultimate disposal. Knowing how you currently use water and what it costs will enable you to make the most appropriate water management decisions. This plan should be included within existing facility operating plans.
For more information on this and other FEMP Water Efficiency Best Management Practices (BMPs), please see the resources section.
Water Management Plan
Develop or update facility water management plans to include at a minimum the following:
Water Use Policy Statement and Goals
Senior management should indicate their support for water efficiency in a material way. They can indicate their support in two important ways: First, by providing a written policy statement that ties water efficiency into the long term operating objective of the facility or organization. Second, management must make the necessary staff and financial resources available to track water use, maintain equipment, and implement cost-effective water use reduction projects.
The facility should translate its water efficiency policy into specific water use reduction targets, in coordination with its headquarters organization. Each federal agency is directed "Beginning in FY 2008, [to] reduce water consumption intensity, relative to the baseline of the agency's water consumption in FY 2007, through life-cycle cost-effective measures by 2 percent annually through the end of fiscal year 2015 or 16 percent by the end of FY 2015." The numeric target will only be achieved at the agency level if specific reductions are achieved at the facility level.
The facility Environmental Management System (EMS) can serve as an excellent existing structure to establish policies and goals related to water use, and monitor progress, once water use is identified as a significant environmental aspect of the facility. See BMP #2 for additional information.
Utility Information
The purpose of this section is to identify how much you are paying for water and sewer service on a unit cost basis, verify that you are paying the right amount, and identify any services your utility might provide to help you manage your water more efficiently. Appropriate utility information should include the following:
- Contact information for all water and wastewater utilities.
- Current rate schedules and alternative schedules appropriate for your usage or facility type. You want to be sure you are paying the best rate.
- Copies of water/sewer bills for the past 2 years. This will help you identify inaccuracies and determine that you are using the appropriate rate structure.
- Information on financial or technical assistance available from the utilities to help with facility water planning and implementing water efficiency programs. Sometimes energy utilities offer assistance on water efficiency.
- Contact information for the agency or office that pays the water/sewer bills.
- Production information, if the facility produces its water and/or treats its own wastewater.
Water Use Information
The most important step in creating a water management plan is to establish a water balance for the facility, whereby you identify, and quantify to the extent possible, how you currently use water. Most federal facilities have metered data for total water use, and may have limited to no submetering data on component uses. However, even when no submetering data are available, a walk though audit of the facility, coupled with a basic understanding of how water is being used and some engineering judgment, will enable the assessor to create a relatively complete accounting of how water is being used, and the approximate quantity used for each purpose. This basic level of understanding is crucial; once you have a good understanding of how you are using water, and how much you are using for each purpose, you will have a solid basis to identify potential water saving opportunities.
The first step in the assessment is to analyze water use trends at your facility. Plot the water use data from the utility water bills for the prior two years. Is water use increasing, deceasing, or steady? Do you know why? Is there a seasonal pattern to water use? This is often the case when irrigation water is used or cooling water demand increases in the summer months.
Second, create an inventory of all water using activities. The list of other BMPs in this guide provides a good checklist to start with (e.g., irrigation, sanitary fixtures and fittings, boiler/steam systems, single pass cooling systems, cooling tower systems, and other process related equipment). You may need to tap the expertise of others at the facility with direct knowledge of building mechanical systems and process equipment to generate a complete inventory. This step should include a walk-through audit of the facility to identify all significant water using processes and associated operating characteristics. As part of the walk-through, pay particular attention to drain lines plumbed to floor drains in building mechanical spaces and utility chases. Trace these back to the originating equipment to make sure you have them on your inventory.
Third, for any of the water uses on the inventory, obtain any submetering data that may be available. Any such data will help quantify that particular use. You can also make a quick, rough estimate of continuous uses (e.g., once though cooling) using a bucket and stopwatch technique.
Fourth, evaluate any seasonal patterns and compare this to your inventory of uses. Are any uses seasonal in nature, such as cooling tower use or irrigation? The seasonal pattern of water use (peak use) can help you quantify to these uses.
Fifth, use supplemental data to create engineering estimates of use. For example, you can estimate sanitary water use based on number of occupants and daily use per occupant, cooling tower use based on cooling capacity and load factor (see BMP #10), irrigation water use based on irrigated area and inches of water applied (discuss with your irrigation contractor), and water use of operating equipment based on water use per cycle, and frequency of cycles.
Finally, after you have been through this process, evaluate the results. Some questions to ask: Does the inventory and associated water use account for most of the metered water use? If not, have you missed something, or might there be a leak (see BMP#3)? Once you have stepped through this process, you will know what your big water using activities are, and this will help to prioritize water saving opportunities.
Note that your local water utility or headquarters organization may have water efficiency assessment staff that can help you with this assessment activity.
If you do not have metered total water use information for your facility, examine the component water uses in your estimating basis, and the relative contribution of each component. This will help you prioritize your saving opportunities.
Metering or Measurement Plan
Once you have conducted the assessment, evaluate your biggest water using activities, and the quality of data you have for that use. Consider installing submeters on high water using processes such as cooling towers and irrigation systems. You can more carefully control processes when you have accurate, quantitative data.
Your plan should assign responsibility to track water use on an ongoing basis. Continue to plot total water use as new water bills become available. Also plot any available submetered data. Evaluate trends and investigate and resolve any unexpected deviations in water use. Track water use reductions and publicize your success.
Emergency Response Information
Develop water emergency and/or drought contingency plans that will describe how your facility will meet minimum water needs in an emergency or reduce water consumption in a drought or other water shortage. This should be done in conjunction with your local water supplier.
Comprehensive Planning
Inform staff, contractors, and the public of the priority your agency or facility places on water and energy efficiency. Ensure that they take water supply, wastewater, storm water issues and water efficiency BMPs into account when making equipment purchases, and at the earliest stages of planning and design for renovation and new construction.
Opportunity Assessment
The water balance described above will provide you with an inventory of your water uses, and the relative magnitude of each use. For each of these, consider the BMPs discussed in the following sections. Include recommended operation and maintenance practices in your facility operation and maintenance documentation. Develop a comprehensive list of potential capital improvement projects that will reduce water use, noting the cost, potential water savings, and payback of each. This list should provide a prioritized basis to include these projects in your capital planning and budgeting process.
Coordination with Facility Environmental Management Systems (EMS)
Under EO 13423, EMS is the primary management approach for addressing environmental aspects under the order, establishing objectives and targets to ensure implementation of the order, as well as collecting, analyzing and reporting of information to measure performance. As such, water management planning and implementation should not be considered separate and distinct from EMS. Rather, both are part of the same whole. For example, the policy statement and goals discussed above should be consistent with your EMS. The water use information developed here should inform your evaluation of environmental impacts and aspects under your EMS. The approach you implement for water management should follow the Plan, Do, Check, Act model established under your EMS.
- Plan - Develop a water management plan, including establishing goals.
- Do - Implement the plan, including staff training and operational controls. Implementation of projects identified in the opportunity assessment.
- Check - Measure plan implementation.
- Act - Review progress and update the plan, as necessary.
Water Management Planning Resources
Arizona Municipal Water Users Association. Facility Manager's Guide to Water Management, 2003. (PDF 2.7 MB).
General Services Administration. Water Management Guide, (PDF 3.6 MB).
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. North Carolina Water Efficiency Manual for Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional Facilities, 1998. (PDF 2.0 MB).
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Actions You Can Take Now to Save Water and Reduce Costs. PNNL-SA-4599, July 2005.
U.S. Department of Energy. Greening Federal Facilities: An Energy, Environmental, and Economic Resource Guide for Federal Facilities Managers, DOE/EE-0123, 1997.
U.S. Department of Energy. Federal Technology Alert: Domestic Water Conservation Technologies. DOE/EE-0264, October 2002.
Vickers, Amy. Handbook of Water Use and Conservation. WaterPlow Press. Amherst. 2001.