3,476,992,903
That’s nearly the number of people who are in need of water right now and it isn’t going down any time soon. Industrial revolutions over the last hundred years have deeply impacted the environment and its water resources. All of this has given rise to the need for taking strict water conservation measures for the greater good of the planet. That’s where some industries and organizations have come up with several tactics to battle the impending water crisis. In this post, we are looking at how they are being the change this world needs right now.
How Bad Is The Current Water Situation?
It’s a fact that industries use tons and tons of freshwater and turn it to tons of toxic waste every single day. All of this is going down the drain and adding up to worsen the health of our ecosystem. In fact, if we talk about statistics, the planet really seems to be falling down. For reference, here are a few of them that indicate the calamity that we may have to face.
- Over 3 billion tons of freshwater is used every day
- More than 55 billion tons of ‘virtual’ water is traded every day
- An average American consumes nearly 570 litres of water every day
- Nearly, 3.57 million people die from dirty water and other related diseases (nearly 2.2 million out of these are children)
Sounds alarming? Certainly, this is a wake-up call for all of us. Speaking of how we can make it count, the following section features some of the most effective water conservation techniques for industries.
Top Most Effective Water Conservation Techniques For Industries
Many industries consume large amounts of water and produce even more waste (hearing it again? It’s required). Clearly, if they turned to use water resources more efficiently, the problems of water shortage and quality can be solved. Aiding the same, here’s a list of most effective conservation techniques that can help industries save water.
1. Use Non-Potable Water Whenever Possible
Yes, there’s a number of industrial processes that require pure and freshwater. However, this doesn’t hold for all processes. And so, it shouldn’t be used everywhere. This will drain the drinkable water resources dry without solving any problems at all. So, for the processes in which drinkable water isn’t essential, use non-potable water. This will also help reduce the planet’s overall water waste, adding significantly to the betterment of the ecosystem.
2. Use Flow Management Equipment
If your industrial processes require water to be sent through a pipeline system or via other similar means, using a qualified flow management system may be a good idea. In the general water transfer process, large quantities of usable water may get wasted. On the other hand, a good flow management system will allow you to monitor and maintain the desired water flow for all processes, keeping the problems of unnecessary wastage at bay.
Companies like Litre Meter offer a variety of such flow management solutions for industries. You may like to check them out.
3. Take Repairs Seriously
“Oh, that’s just a small leak.”
“Letting a few drops go down the drain won’t harm our business.”
“Repairing is going to affect our ROI, so let’s stall it for not.”
Not that you think this way, but there may be business individuals who do. To all of them,
- No water leak is small.
- Wasting even a single drop of water is going to harm your business in one way or the other.
- Repairs won’t pull down your business’ ROI. They only boost it by optimizing your processes and providing you with secondary water resources, that otherwise would have gone wasted.
So, make sure you preserve every single drop of water that can be saved.
4. Going Dry When You Can
If you look closely, you will find a number of processes that have been using water but can do great without it. Take cleaning, for example. Industrial units/plants have been excessively using water for various cleaning processes. Not that these processes can’t go on without water. It’s just that companies need to realize the need for going easy on the resources.
So, start with yourself by encouraging your staff and other workers to use dry alternatives when possible.
How 4 Manufacturers Are Trying To Save Water In Their Industrial Processes?
As mentioned above, every industrial process has the potential for saving water. It’s just that some organizations prioritize an eco-friendly process, while others don’t.
In this section, we are talking about four such manufacturers that are setting a good example with their water-efficient industrial methods.
1. Ford Motor Company
One of the most famous automobile manufacturers from the US; Ford has been working a lot around incorporating the agenda of water conservation within their industrial processes. Over the last decade, the company has introduced several water saver processes like dry machining, three-step to two-step painting and wastewater reuse. As a result, the manufacturer has been able to save nearly 883 gallons of water (annually), reducing the annual costs by nearly $22 million.
2. MillerCoors
You know that water conservation is crucial when you see the top beer brewing company working hard to save as much as it can. In 2008, MillerCoors educated its staff on how they can save nearly 129 gallons (4.1 barrels) of water in their conventional brewing process for creating one barrel of beer
The top techniques that helped MillerCoors were:
- Short interval control
- Direct irrigation
- GPS moisture monitoring
As a result, they could finally cut their water consumption down to only 3.6 barrels (113 gallons) of water per barrel of beer, saving almost 6.4 cents per gallon.
3. Cascade Tissue Group
Cascade tissue group is a pulp and paper manufacturing company, and we know how much water they require and consume. But, then the organization itself was aware and considerate regarding the same. So, they decided to make some changes by replacing the conventional paper manufacturing process with the recycled fibre process. As a result, they managed to save nearly 2.6 billion gallons of water and a whopping CA$ 24 million in the bank.
4. BASF Chemical
A German-based, European chemical company is one of the largest on the planet. And so was its water usage. So, they turned to technologies that helped them reduce their overall water usage by 80% from 2002 to 2020.
The technologies used were:
- Separation technology
- Ultrafiltration
- Using surface and well water when possible
Also, these technologies helped one of their customers save 292,000 cubic meters of water annually, which accounted for US$385,440. A great deal of money, right?
Well, that’s the power of efficiency. So, think about it and encourage your company to save more water in all of its processes.
Final words
Considering the current environmental situation, it becomes evident that water conservation is the crucial need of the hour. Thankfully, there’s hope, and someone is making the most out of it. In this post, we talked about some of those companies, along with different water conservation techniques for industries.
Hopefully, this was helpful and enlightening.
