Water Conservation and Low-Flow Upgrades
# Water Conservation and Low-Flow Upgrades
Reducing Water Usage and Sewer Overhead
Water and sewer rates are rising faster than electrical rates in many regions of Texas. Public facilities—especially K-12 school campuses, university dormitories, county jails, and municipal offices—consume millions of gallons of water annually through old toilets, urinals, faucets, and outdated landscape irrigation systems.
E3 designs and implements comprehensive water conservation programs, retrofitting facility fixtures and irrigation controls to reduce water consumption by up to 40%, yielding significant savings on both water supply and sewer discharge bills.
Core Features of E3’s Water Conservation Solutions
### 1. Low-Flow Indoor Plumbing Upgrades We replace or retrofit high-water-consumption plumbing fixtures:
- Toilets and Urinals: Upgrading legacy toilets to high-efficiency models (typically 1.28 gallons per flush or GPF) and urinals to pint-flush (0.125 GPF) or waterless models.
- Flushometers: Retrofitting manual handle flush valves with battery-powered infrared sensor flushometers, preventing double flushing and phantom runs.
- Faucets: Installing low-flow aerators (reducing flow from 2.2 GPM to 0.5 GPM) and automatic metering or sensor-operated faucets to prevent water from being left running.
### 2. Smart, Weather-Based Irrigation Controls Landscape irrigation can account for up to 50% of a facility’s summer water bill. E3 replaces old mechanical timers with smart, cloud-connected irrigation controllers (such as Hunter or Rain Bird systems) that:
- Adjust watering schedules automatically based on local weather forecasts and soil moisture sensors.
- Monitor flow rates and automatically shut off watering zones if a broken pipe or sprinkler head is detected, preventing massive water waste.
### 3. Comprehensive Sub-Metering We install sub-meters on cooling towers, boilers, and irrigation lines. In many Texas municipalities, water used for cooling towers or landscape irrigation does not return to the sewer system. By sub-metering these systems, we help you secure sewer billing credits from your municipal utility, instantly lowering your monthly sewer bill.
### 4. Continuous Leak Detection Systems We integrate flow-monitoring systems into main supply lines. These systems use machine learning to identify abnormal, low-level water draws (indicating a slow pipe leak or running toilet) and automatically send alerts to your facilities team before damage or high bills occur.
Safe, Turnkey Implementation
Through our integrated Design-Build process, E3 manages every phase: 1. Water Audit: Inventorying all indoor and outdoor water connections and reviewing historical utility bills. 2. Fixture Standardization: Selecting high-durability, commercial-grade fixtures that match your existing maintenance supply inventory. 3. Off-Hours Retrofit: Swapping out fixtures during weekends and school breaks to ensure zero operational downtime. 4. Utility Rebate Capture: Securing all available commercial water conservation rebates from local water districts.