Water Audits Are A Necessity
The word “audit” conjures up many feelings, often negative. However, it is a necessary practice that verifies how well your company manages its finances. Water audits have the same purpose, but the focus is on water management in your plant. For the customer, the motivation is to find out where and how they can save on water. At Caloris, our philosophy on water management includes a three pronged approach:
- Water Reuse
- Water Conservation
- Water Monitoring
Simon Zimmer is Caloris Business Development Manager for Water Recovery.
Depending on the size of your plant, the audit can become quite complex. A typical water audit can take a few months to complete. Key activities of a water audit include:
1) Initial meeting with the customer to understand their needs, issues and goals for the future regarding water in their plant.
2) Collect data (onsite and remotely):
- Operation costs
- Water sources
- Wastewater treatment
- Boilers
- Cooling towers
- Evaporators
- Filtration systems
- CIP Processes, etc.
3) Evaluate the data:
- Develop a water balance for the plant
- Create a facility layout showing the flows of the water (in and out) of the plant
- List re-use water and water conversation opportunities
- Estimate savings for:
– water
– waste treatment
– chemical
– energy - Develop treatment opportunities to improve water management.
4) Create a summary report and share it with the customer.
5) Meet with customer to discuss the results and generate a timeline during which solutions can be implemented depending on funding, priorities and scope.
6) Implement solutions.
7) Redo water audit one year later to verify impact.
As water becomes more valuable, water audits will play a major role in plants around the country to make sure they are optimizing their use. This not only saves money, but is also good for the local community and environment. How can Caloris help you achieve your water management goals?
This blog post was written by Caloris Business Development Manager for Water Recovery Simon Zimmer. You can contact Simon via email for more information or call Caloris at 410-822-6900.
(Header Image Credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife)