As part of his research into water shower roses, Chief Engineer Ian Crookston developed the following theoretical calculation to analyse the water and cost savings available to the resort via water conserving showers:
One person @ one 10 minute shower/day with old 27 litre/minute showers = 270 litres
One person @ one 10 minute shower/day with new 9 litre/minute showers = 90 litres (ie) one third of the original consumption
70% occupancy/year = approximately 63,100 double rooms and potentially 107,000 guests
Each guest @ one five minute shower/day using the 27 litre/minute shower roses = 14,445 kL/year
Water saved/year = 9,625 kL/year
Basic water and trade waste charges combined @ $1.28/kL, this example equals a financial saving of $12,340/year (not including energy savings)
To purchase and install the shower roses for each guest room, the Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove calculates a less than one-year payback on investment.
During the research and writing of the Manual of Best Practices, the Gold Coast City Council (Gold Coast Water), identified the lack of water monitoring equipment and practices in many large hotels and resorts on the Gold Coast.
While many hotels and resorts were interested in the potential financial benefits of water conservation, few if any had the means to:
- benchmark current water use
- identify major water use areas
- conduct accurate cost/benefit analyses on water conserving equipment
- evaluate the real water savings made by WaterWise retrofits
In 1997, Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove therefore began work with the GCCC (Gold Coast Water) in the WaterWise arena, by participating in a project designed specifically to benchmark and monitor water use in its kitchen servicing The Cove Cafe.
Between October 1997 and February 1998, Chief Engineer Ian Crookston benchmarked water use in The Cove kitchen. During this time, WaterWise training was conducted with staff supervisors, a new water and energy efficient dishwasher was installed and calculations were made on the installation of flow controls into all kitchen (and resort) taps.
