Water efficiency may not be a high political priority in many urban areas of Australia at the moment due to the prevailing higher than normal rainfall conditions being experienced by much of the country. However, there are an increasing number of organisations that are realising there has never been a better time to take a fresh look at their resource usage costs. Some, more enlightened, organisations also realise that in just a few years we will be in drought conditions again. For many of these organisations, this has been the path to some of the most profitable return on investments imaginable.
In the past 6 months, BMT WBM staff have been busy taking a closer look at water use patterns in a wide range of properties – including iconic entertainment facilities, large universities, stadiums, council parks and buildings, residential apartment buildings, a zoo, tourist parks, commercial laundries, aged care facilities, hotels, manufacturing plants, and many more.
Environmental sustainability is sometimes a factor for these sites, but the most common driver is economic – seeking ongoing cost savings through practical improvements and reductions in water usage, often with startlingly low payback periods. As a result of our work, one manufacturing plant alone is looking at water bill savings of over $700,000 per annum, with a payback period counted in months rather than years.
Even for well-managed sites, our investigations typically identify practical cost-effective opportunities to save 25-60% of current water use, plus compounded cost savings from associated embedded energy and staff time savings.
The key reason these opportunities often remain unrealised for many sites is that there is no ‘silver bullet’ or simple solution to water efficiency. Even within specialised sectors, the best results almost always require close investigation and analysis at the individual site level with appropriate equipment and expertise – and experienced, unbiased help with this can be surprisingly hard to find.
BMT WBM is committed to the highest standard of water efficiency auditing, training and assistance - and is endeavoring to keep up with increasing private demand across most sectors.
Adam Jones
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