Multifamily properties should do their part to conserve water for the good of the environment. Here are 5 tips for your apartment building to conserve water:
1. Fix all Drips and Leaks
Be aware of weaknesses in your current plumbing. You should check every single unit and the common areas of your property for drips and leaks routinely. Educate maintenance workers – and even residents – on the urgency of reporting and fixing all dripping and leaking fixtures. Drips often go unreported since they seem small, but a constant drip can lead to significant water consumption.
2. Retrofit or Replace Toilets
When choosing whether to replace or retrofit, it is important to do your research about what will work best for your community. The retrofitting process includes updating broken supply lines, flanges, or flappers for every toilet. Older multifamily properties usually have the standard 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf) toilets in all residential units. New technology has allowed for 0.8 gpf toilets to enter the market. This presents a huge opportunity for water savings if you choose toilet replacement. eConserve offers a multifamily retrofit service & multifamily toilet replacement service (with the Niagara Stealth 0.8 gpf efficiency toilet) to meet your property's needs. Advances in the industry mean that savings can happen much more quickly, and at a lower cost than ever before. These services can be even more cost-effective with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. As a financing option eConserve does have a Shared Savings Program so there’s no risk to start water conservation. This is a win-win scenario for property owners, because rather than having an upfront cost, they simply pay back the service costs through their savings over a period of several months.
3. Retrofit Showerheads and Aerators
Switching to water-efficient showerheads and faucet aerators optimizes water usage. Keep in mind that when it comes to low-flow conservation, residents are often most sensitive about showerheads and water pressure.
4. Schedule Routine Checks
Whether you hire an outside company or add it to your maintenance workers’ list of things to do, it is important to check each unit regularly, making sure all water fixtures are running efficiently. As part of our Retrofit Service and Toilet Replacement Service, eConserve will continue to monitor the results of the water conservation, as well as schedule property walk-throughs to check for any drips or leaks.
5. Educate Staff & Residents on Conservation
The more your property understands that every drop of water counts, the more your property will succeed at water conservation. Add posters and flyers in common areas to remind residents to keep showers short, turn off faucets when they brush their teeth, not leave water running when doing dishes, use the washing machine for full loads only, and to report any drips or leaks. As you become more conscious of conserving water, consider having the sprinklers turned off when it rains or designing smart landscaping that does not require intense watering.
While you cannot control how your residents will use water inside their units, it is possible to reduce water consumption by implementing our water conservation tips. No matter which route you take, it is clear that water conservation is a benefit to all: properties, residents and the environment.
eConserve is a national multifamily water conservation company based in Houston. We offer multifamily Toilet Replacement Services and Retrofit Services, and have retrofitted properties all over the nation since 2008.
Contact eConserve today (info@eConserveLLC.com or 713-662-3220) for a free analysis and benchmarking on your multifamily property to determine the potential for water consumption savings.