Benchmarks for water use

Understand how much you can save

By comparing how much water your business uses to how much water similar, water-efficient businesses use, you can set achievable targets. Saving water does much more than add to the bottom line.


What saving water does for your business

Businesses are responsible for around 25% of all water used in Greater Sydney. Could your business use less water, more effectively? By achieving a best practice benchmark, you can:

  • pay less on water use, energy use, chemical use, wastewater discharge and trade wastewater charges
  • save on maintenance and capital costs of equipment by managing water better
  • reduce your environmental impact by reducing your site's carbon emissions, demand for water from our dams and discharge that must be treated before it's released into rivers and oceans
  • build your brand as an environmentally conscious provider, improving your corporate social responsibility.

3 steps to calculate, compare and track

The key to using water more effectively is to understand where your business uses it.

We've used a childcare centre as an example to demonstrate the steps to achieve a best practice benchmark. The business activity of a childcare centre falls under 'Childcare and preschool education'.
 

Step 1  Calculate your current business benchmark

  • Start with your key business activity indicator. The key business activity indicator is the business activity or variable that affects how much water your business uses.
  • Quantify your water usage in units that align with the benchmark for your business type. The benchmark may be in megalitres (ML), kilolitres (kL) or litres (L).
  • Calculate the daily water use to align with the benchmark. Divide your water usage by the days shown on the water bill (a quarter can be from 90 to 92 days).
  • Calculate your business benchmark by dividing daily water use by the key business activity indicator.
Childcare centre example

The childcare centre takes 30 children a day on average. This is its key business activity indicator. The water usage on its latest quarterly bill is 90 kL (1 kL = 1,000 L). To calculate the childcare centre's business benchmark:

Water usage on last bill
90,000 L


÷

Days shown on last bill
90 days


=

Daily water use
1,000 L

Daily water use
1,000 L


÷

Key business indicator
30 children


=

Childcare centre benchmark
33 L per child per day

Step 2  See how you rate against similar businesses

Once you've calculated your current business benchmark, you can see how it rates against benchmarks for a similar business in the dropdowns below. When you compare, you can see if there's potential to improve your water management practices, reduce your water usage and use water more effectively.

Childcare centre example

The business benchmark of 33 L per child per day puts the childcare centre in the fair range for the 'Childcare and preschool education' water-efficiency benchmark. There's an opportunity to improve practices and reduce water usage to enable it to fall within the best practice range of less than 20 L per child per day.
 

Step 3  Track your benchmark over time

By comparing your business benchmark over time, you can:

  • measure how your business is performing
  • verify the benefits of action taken to improve performance
  • identify problems for investigation if water use increases unexpectedly.

Benchmarks and guides by business type

We've included benchmarks, best practice guidelines and resources for a range of business types. These provide practical ideas on how your business can save water and use it more effectively. 

The seven-point plan for holistic water management provides a useful bite-size framework for all businesses to develop a resource management plan to structure and prioritise their water management.

For practical ideas on how your aquatic centre can save water and use it more effectively, read our Best practice guidelines for water management in aquatic leisure centres.

Rating Benchmark per bather Benchmark per patron

Best practice

< 20 litres (L) per bather

< 10 L per patron

Efficient

< 20 L to 40 L per bather

10 L to 25 L per patron

Fair

40 L to 60 L per bather

25 L to 40 L per patron

Inefficient

> 60 L per bather

> 40 L per patron

For practical ideas on how your childcare centre or preschool can save water and use it more effectively, see the summary findings of Water Savings Partnership pilot assessments in Water efficiencies in childcare centres

Rating Benchmark

Best practice

< 25 L per child per day

Fair

25 L to 40 L per child per day

Inefficient

> 40 L  per child per day

For practical ideas on how your club can save water and use it more effectively, read our Best practice guidelines for water management in clubs.

Club facility type Benchmark

With no cooling tower or swimming pool

20 L per customer per day

With cooling towers and no swimming pool

22 L per customer per day

With cooling towers and swimming pool

28 L per customer per day

Rating Benchmark

Efficient

< 35 L per food cover

Fair

35 L to 45 L per food cover

Inefficient

> 45 L per food cover

Rating Benchmark without reuse water Benchmark with reuse water

Efficient

17 L to 22 L per kilogram linen

12 L to 15 L per kilogram linen

Fair

22 L to 26 L per kilogram linen

15 L to 18 L per kilogram linen

Inefficient

> 26 L per kilogram linen

> 18 L per kilogram linen

For practical ideas on how your commercial office building or shopping centre can save water and use it more effectively, read these best practice guidelines:

Rating Benchmark with cooling towers Benchmark without cooling towers

Best practice

0.77 kilolitres (kL) per square metre per year

0.40 kL per square metre per year

Efficient

0.84 kL per square metre per year

0.47 kL per square metre per year

Fair

1.01 kL per square metre per year

0.64 kL per square metre per year

We commissioned a water efficiency analysis for this segment for the City of Sydney and the Sustainable Destination Partnership. Explore the findings and recommendations in the Water efficiency segment study for hotels, hostels and entertainment venues.

Rating Benchmark 

Best practice

0.40 kL per room per day

Efficient

0.40 kL to 0.45 kL per room per day

For practical ideas on how you can save water and use it more effectively when managing turn and sports fields, read our Best practice guidelines for holistic open space turf management in Sydney.

Rating Best practice benchmark 

Elite

4 million litres (ML) to 9 ML per hectare per year

Regional

2.5 ML to 5 ML per hectare per year

Local

1.5 ML to 3.5 ML per hectare per year

Passive

1.5 ML to 3.5 ML per hectare per year


How we can support you

Your relationship manager can assist with benchmarking your business's water use. Call 13 20 92 8am–5:30pm Monday to Friday (except public holidays) or email businesscustomers@sydneywater.com.au. They can help to:

  • identify your key business activity indicator
  • track your historical water use
  • calculate your business benchmark
  • compare your benchmark against water-efficiency benchmarks
  • recommend efficiency improvements.

If you don't have a relationship manager, email waterfixcommercial@sydneywater.com.au.