Save water at industrial premises

Your business can take practical steps to reduce its water use by adopting a range of cleaning and rinsing technologies and techniques.

Many businesses don't clearly understand what constitutes dirty or used water. In many cases, this water can be reused effectively in other areas of your business. Completing an audit of what you consider to be 'used' water and then evaluating how this could be reused will often reveal significant areas for water conservation and cost savings.

You could cut your business' water use by 50 per cent by adopting cleaning-in-place (CIP) techniques. For more information about CIP, see how to reduce water use by cleaning-in-place.

Using scrapers, squeegees, brushes or hoses to clean an area can reduce the cleaning time and thus save water. They can also help you to eradicate bacterial growth and provide your business with a more hygienic environment.

If solids are likely to be washed easily into drains, fitting drain covers can have a major impact on the effluent that your business produces. This will save you money by reducing the effluent charges your business has to pay.

After water has been used, it is often possible to recycle the water after it has been suitably treated and then use it again. Treatment technologies you could use include:

• filtration
• clarification/sedimentation
• centrifugation
• flotation
• ion exchange
• distillation/stripping
• absorption/adsorption

Using counter-current rinsing can save your business large amounts of water. This system moves your business' products through a series of tanks or rinsing stages. A product is first rinsed using dirty water and then progressively cleaner water as it moves from tank to tank.