The maintenance or engineering department for hotel properties can significantly impact water consumption. Maintenance has a direct responsibility to prevent water wastes by repairing tap and toilet leaks, using water saving equipment, maintaining current systems, and reusing and recycling waste water ( to name a few).

Every use of water in a hotel or restaurant imposes short-term operating and long term capital costs in water supply, water heating or cooling and ultimately wastewater treatment. Every reduction in water use has the potential for a savings in each of these areas. Therefore, water conservation also equates and wastewater treatment savings.

Maintenance has direct control over the amount of water used in the hotel's guest rooms, refrigeration and HVAC systems. For example, untended faucet and toilet leaks will cause higher water costs. Reducing water use, reusing waste water, and increasing equipment efficiency can offset or reverse increasing water consumption and costs.

Here are some simple water conservation ideas :

• Implement preventive maintenance
• Frequently check taps, toilets and other systems for leaks
• Install leak-detection equipment
• Monitor taps, effluent and ventilation systems frequently
• Install aerators/flow restrictors into water outlets
• Install infrared-activated faucets in public bathrooms
• Minimize the water used in cooling equipment
• Maintain insulation on hot water pipes
• Avoid excessive boiler and air conditioner blow down
• Clean the sidewalks with a broom instead of a hose
• Install water meters to monitor high consumption equipment and areas
• Recover waste water from laundry rinse cycles & dry cleaning cooling cycles for reuse
• Keep utility bills in file to track the consumption of water in maintenance
• Establish scheduled maintenance procedures and processes of equipment
• Establish an effective employee training program about water conservation