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Explains Indranil Bhaduri- Director of Engineering Services, The Park Hotels, “water conservation is done in three methods. Storm Water Management where it is ensured that the storm water does not get mixed with the sewage water. Rainwater is the purest form of water and it is collected in open catchments and routed to tanks or recharge wells from which it can be further used and therefore increases the ground water reserve. This is called Rain Water Harvesting. Waste Water Management where the water is treated to improve its quality so that it can be reused without harming the environment. Sewage Treatment Plants treat the sewage generated by domestic use and Effluent Treatment Plants treat the water contaminated with chemicals coming from laundry and other sources. The treated water is utilised for different areas like landscaping for cleaning & plantations, cooling towers, flush lines for guest rooms etc. Reduction in Water Consumption – The consumption of water is restricted to the optimum level without affecting the guest comfort and thereby reducing the water wastage to a minimum. This is done by installing various low flow water fixtures in shower, flush and faucets, reducing pressure in water lines with regulating valves to reduce wastage. Low flow flush with 1.6 GPF have replaced earlier flow rate of 3.5 GPF. Low flow showers with 2.5 GPM have replaced earlier flow rate of 3.5 GPM.”

Dual flush system is introduced where the guest can select a low flow of 3 litres or a normal flow of 4.5 litres is a new feature in hotels. Water efficient equipments are used like dish washing machines in kitchen and washer extractors in laundry. Reuse of drain water from HVAC and reject water from Reverse Osmosis plant, monitoring of Cooling Towers to operate at optimum levels and towel linen programs by House Keeping to reduce the laundry load are all in place.

Sometimes water conservators are used along with plumbing fixtures to reduce the water flow. These conservators can be fixed with any fixture. They have different flow rates like 6, 9 and 12 litres per minute that limits the maximum flow through them. The Storm Water Management and Waste Water Management is planned at the time of the construction of the hotel but methods for the reduction of water consumption is implemented in running hotels in replacing fittings with retrofit ones. Water consumption for different areas is measured by flow meters.

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Areas like pools, spas, laundry, landscaping and kitchen are where consumption is the highest and is monitored. The reduction in water consumption reduces the water intake that is sometimes purchased. This also reduces the running hours and electricity consumption of the treatment plants which is proportional to the water consumption. An emerging trend is that of using low flush or zero flush urinals and the use of UV filtration to save water.

Anjali Chatterjee, General Manager – Marketing and Communications, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group says: “We have installed low flow toilets and water less urinals and flow restrictors in sinks and showers. We also use STP treated water for irrigation, cooling tower purposes and to maintain the greens. Apart from rainwater harvesting, we have installed water meters to track the consumption and installed pressure-reducing valves in the lines that have low-pressure requirements. We use W/C’s cisterns with dual flushing arrangement used in place of conventional flush valves and have also installed VFD bases hydro pneumatic water distribution systems.”

Prem Thakur - Director of Engineering, Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and Convention Centre adds, “we are using the latest and most effective technology in the hotel. In the rooms we have a dual flush system and flow restrictors in all water faucets that reduces the flow of water. In all the public areas we have automatic sensors, which again help in reducing the wastage of water. We also have a state-of-the-art Sewage Treatment Plant, where the wastewater is treated, recycled and used for cooling tower makeup, flushing and irrigation purposes. A newly implemented technology is the NALCO treatment, which treats the water in the Sewage Treatment Plant. This technology enables online control and monitoring.”

The initial cost of implementing these technologies are anywhere between Rs. 70 - 90 lakhs. The dual flush and flow restrictors cost Rs. 7 - 8 Lakhs and the sewage treatment plant costs around Rs. 70 lakhs. The cost effectiveness of these technologies and measured according to the output, which is measured on a daily basis.  Cost effectiveness of such measures differs by country, hotel constructions and the technologies and water conservation devices installed.

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