How Businesses Can Decrease Their Carbon Footprint by Saving Precious Potable Water

Initiative Objective

Businesses, consider this. How big is your carbon footprint, how much potable water is wasted at your place of business? Here, Irrigation expert Bruce Moore, Sr., President of Eastern Land Management in Stamford shares 7 succinct water conservation strategies to reduce the waste of valuable potable water. 1. Inventory all water consuming machinery, plumbing, sinks, toilets, showers, heating equipment, cooling towers, boilers, pools, spas, fountains, and landscape irrigation, document and fix leaks. 2. Conduct a water audit; consult a J-3, J-4 licensed landscape irrigation expert for analysis and recommendation. Example: installing water monitoring sub-meters to measure source flow. 3. Create a written water usage management plan. Make it company policy and issue a statement to employees. 4. Leaky irrigation systems are notorious as one-source water wasters. Almost every 3-5 year old system leaks, watering unnecessary areas, running off into streets, walkways, gutters. Broken sprinkler heads are a big culprit. 5. For sidewalk hosing, retire the common hose/nozzle using 8-12 gallons per minute, replace with a pressurized Waterbroom to save about 9 gallons per minute. 6. Future plumbing purchases? Look for the EPA approved WaterSense® label, that assures 30% in savings. 7. Consider Xeriscaping, landscapes that use hardy native species, drought resistant plants, grasses, and trees to minimize need for water. So there you have it! Go ahead and kick off a company initiative to help save precious potable water…and some money too! Eastern Land Management is a 35-year old full-service commercial landscape and irrigation management company. With 65 full-time and seasonal employees, ELM manages accounts for hospitals, corporations, schools, retail outlets and municipalities in Southeastern CT, and Westchester County, New York. The company is located at 142 Hamilton Avenue in Stamford, CT, 203.316.5433, www.easternland.com.