Ways to improve your water efficiency

• Staff awareness
• Ways to improve your water efficiency
• Fixing leaks

Understand your water use

• Read meters at least daily to make sure you don’t have undetected leaks. One business site cut its water use by over 80 per cent by detecting and fixing a large underground leak.
• Benchmark your water use, so you can see how much water you are using compared to others in your industry. Common benchmarks include litres per square metre (for buildings) or per unit of production (for manufacturers).

Fix leaks

• Check for leaks in taps, pipes and hoses. One leaking tap can waste more than 2,000 litres a month! To reduce leaks in taps, turn your taps off lightly and replace washers as soon as they begin to leak.
• Check that urinals and toilets are not leaking or flushing when not in use.

Install water efficient devices

• Install at least 3 star WELS rated flow restrictors in taps and showers. 3 star rated low flow taps or tap aerators are more efficient than ordinary taps and reduce splashing.
• Replace single flush toilets with efficient dual flush models. They use half as much water as old models. If you can't replace toilets immediately, reduce flush volumes.

Implement water efficient processes

• Mop floors instead of hosing them. Microfibre mops use less water, create less waste and reduce slip hazards.
• Don’t use hoses to clean hard surface areas. Use mops or brooms, or a bucket to wash and rinse. If you have a water restrictions exemption, you still need to have a trigger nozzle on your hose.
• Encourage staff to rinse their dishes in a plugged sink rather than under a running tap to save water. It is just as easy and effective.
• Think about installing your own wastewater treatment system to recycle water and cut down on water bills.

Communicate

• Provide incentives for staff to save water by linking water conservation to staff performance reviews.
• Your staff know how they use water in your business. Ask them for water saving ideas. Follow up on ideas and report back on their progress. Simple ideas from staff may save more water than you ever imagined.
• Make sure everyone is aware of water conservation at work. Include water conservation policies and procedures in staff training programs, and talk about water conservation plans, opportunities and progress at staff meetings.
• Communicate water saving ideas using bulletins, newsletters, emails and posters. You can encourage people to send water saving ideas via email or suggestion boxes.