Drinking water is one of Earth’s most precious natural resources, and many take it for granted. We open the faucets in our homes with the confidence that we’ll access clean drinking water and that our water waste will be adequately disposed of. We’ve come to depend on domestic water systems.
The demand for domestic water increased by 600% between 1960 and 2014. With the global population growing and climate change making water supplies much more challenging to predict, we simply cannot risk overconsumption of clean water.
On top of that, local lawmakers are increasingly adopting water conservation policies when designing domestic water systems, whether in new structures or existing residential buildings. It’s no longer just about preserving our precious natural resources; it’s also about complying with green building standards and laws.
[ Source: World Resources Institute ]
Understanding Domestic Water Systems in Buildings
Multi-family buildings and high-rises require adequate planning of water system demand. They employ various plumbing components (such as pumps, switching valves, tanks, pressure regulators, and flow control valves) to ensure all tenants have clean drinking water and all wastewater is efficiently removed from the building.
All plumbing systems have two main components: potable water supply and wastewater drainage (sewage).
Domestic water supply
The typical water supply system starts at the municipal water supply source and delivers water to the various fixtures and appliances within the apartments in your buildings. The water enters the building through a main supply line and flows through smaller pipes that distribute it to different areas.
Domestic water drainage systems
On the other side of water consumption is wastewater disposal, which uses sewage, drain and vent pipes, and the main sewer line or septic system to dispose of excess water from toilets, showers, sinks, baths, and appliances (like dishwashers and washing machines) that the tenants of your building use in their everyday lives.
Today, we need more than this basic setup to meet most regulatory requirements for water conservation or green building certifications like LEED Platinum. You have to manage water in a way that enables building-wide water conservation.
[ Source: GharPedia ]
The Key Challenges of Managing Domestic Water in Your Buildings
Managing domestic water systems at scale is easier said than done. There are many benefits of water conservation for multi-tenant buildings, but so are the challenges and hurdles. These challenges include:
Lack of stakeholder cooperation
It is not easy to convince building owners to invest in water conservation, and it is equally challenging to persuade tenants to change their water consumption behaviors or agree to pay to upgrade the fixtures in their apartments.
Outdated infrastructure
No matter how modern and smart your building is, if it’s connected to an antiquated and unreliable water supply system, you’ll encounter many problems, from water contamination to inconsistent supply and pressure. For example, maintaining and upgrading aging pipes, especially in older buildings, can lead to water contamination from corroded materials or even water leaks. The older your system components are, the more costly they can be to upgrade or replace.
Insufficient proficiency with modern systems and tools
Not all plumbing professionals are early adopters of innovative technologies. Even today, many prefer manual observation and adjusting water systems on-site rather than relying on proven technologies for automation and remote control of domestic water systems.
Integration complexity and cost
Modern water systems in large multi-tenant residential structures can be very complex, with multiple systems (including heating, sprinklers, and irrigation) depending on the availability of clean water and the ability to dispose of wastewater. Significant changes to the system, such as replacing pipes, toilets, and sinks and adding new components to enhance its effectiveness, can become costly and lengthy.
6 Steps to Improve Domestic Water Management
There are ways to overcome the above mentioned issues and reduce water consumption in multifamily buildings. Their implementation depends on your water system optimization project’s scope, ESG strategy, available budgets, and stakeholder support. There are a few steps you can consider taking to improve the overall water management practices in your buildings:
1. Calculate a water use baseline and conservation goals
First, it is essential to understand where you stand regarding water consumption and efficiency. You can employ a water use baseline formula to estimate how much water your building should use. Consider water demand calculators and industry standards like LEED for green multifamily real estate water efficiency to guide your water management optimization process.
Then, you should compare this estimate and goals to the metered and submetered water consumption for each building. The larger the gap you discover, the more opportunities you will find to reduce water consumption and optimize its management.
| Fixture | Baseline flush or flow rate | Estimated Fixture Usage | Estimated water usage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shower (per compartment) | 2.5 gpm | 9.5 lpm | 6.15 minutes | 15.4 gallons | 58.4 liters |
| Lavatory, kitchen faucet | 2.2 gpm | 8.3 lpm | 5.0 minutes | 11 gallons | 41.5 liters |
| Toilet | 1.6 gpf | 6 lpf | 5.05 flushes | 8 gallons | 30.3 liters |
| Clothes washer | 9.5 IWF | 9.5 IWF | 0.37 cycles @ 3.5 ft3 (@0.1 m3) | 15.1 gallons | 57.1 liters |
| Dishwasher | 6.5 gpc | 24 lpc | 0.1 cycles | 0.7 gallons | 2.4 liters |
[ Source: U.S. Green Building Council ]
2. Conduct a comprehensive water audit
To fully understand the gap between your water consumption goals and the current state of affairs, it helps to conduct a comprehensive water audit with the help of an experienced plumbing expert. Such an audit will include:
- Installing monitoring equipment to track your buildings’ water consumption.
- Inspecting water fixtures and appliances for efficiency.
- Using leak strips to find leaks near and around fixtures and appliances.
3. Promote occupant engagement and support of water conservation efforts
Without the building occupants aboard with your water conservation plan, the plan won’t take off. To encourage water conservation among your building occupants, you can offer discounts for fixture upgrades and communicate the monetary value of water conservation, such as lower utility bills.
4. Upgrade to water-efficient fixtures and appliances
Different jurisdictions have different regulations and demands for plumbing fixtures you can install and maintain. Over the years, standards have changed to meet the growing demand for potable water in urban areas. Consider upgrading your plumbing infrastructure to comply with these requirements and significantly lower water consumption.
For example, you can utilize dual-flush valves on water closets to provide a full 1.6-gpf flush and an optional 0.8-gpf half flush. You can also replace existing plumbing fixtures with high-efficiency fixtures that use 1.3 gpf or less and meet and exceed UPC and IPC requirements.
[ Source: WaterSafe ]
5. Implement system-wide intelligent water management
Water efficiency is about making the most of every drop of water. Technologies like Wint Water Intelligence can help you optimize water usage, minimize waste, and decrease costs. Using AI and IoT technologies, Wint monitors your water usage and detects water waste and potential leaks. Through its automated system and advanced data analysis, Wint can alert your team in real-time if a leak is found and automatically shut off the valve at the source. This way, you can prevent water damage caused by leaks and reduce your water consumption and carbon emissions by 25%.
6. Harvest and use alternative water sources
Employ “greywater” as an alternative to drawing potable water from the public water supply. For example, rainwater harvesting is one popular method of collecting, treating, and using water for non-drinking purposes, such as cooling towers, landscape irrigation, and water closets. It’s worth noting that adding a greywater system to an existing building can be a complex undertaking, but it is almost standard in new residential projects worldwide.
Leveraging AI and IoT technologies for the efficient management of domestic water in buildings
Water efficiency is critical in ensuring reliable water supplies for current and future generations. From the perspective of building managers and owners, employing technology in water conservation plans in their multifamily properties isn’t just good for the environment and their sustainability targets; it’s also good for the bottom line of their business, boosting their long-term savings, insurance premiums, and project attractiveness.
Your process toward more efficient multifamily water management depends highly on what drives you toward it – compliance with local regulations and insurers, occupant demand, or the ESG goals of your investors and stakeholders. That said, employing technology in domestic water supply efficiency management is the only way to achieve significant and measurable results.
With Wint Water Intelligence enterprise-grade water management platform, you can make strategic decisions and optimize water consumption at scale. Wint can be used across your buildings to closely monitor water usage and detect water waste and potential leaks before they happen. If a leak is detected, Wint stops it at the source in real-time. Detailed analytics on your water consumption can help you understand water usage, reduce water consumption, and cut your water bills by up to 25%.
