Office buildings can save water

Hawaii may appear to have plentiful water resources, situated as it is in the Pacific. According to researchers at the University of Hawaii, however, Hawaii has experienced reduced rainfall, higher evaporation rates and declining stream flows over the last several decades. The answer is water reuse and conservation. Water conservation includes policies, strategies and activities to manage fresh water as a sustainable resource, to protect the water environment, and to meet current and future human demand.

Commercial and industrial properties, including shopping centers, hotels and office buildings, are often overlooked as possible sources for improved water use. Multi-use, multi-tenant commercial, industrial and office properties offer enormous water-saving potential but won’t happen without overcoming the common disconnect between the building owner, the tenants, the building manager or engineer who maintain the facilities and equipment.

A first step toward bridging that gap is developing a baseline of data to know how much water is being used. Many Hawaii commercial property owners are participating in the “W2 Challenge,” a two-year initiative to support commercial real estate practitioners across the country in benchmarking water and waste consumption and associated costs, implementing best practices to improve performance.

Common ways for building owners to improve water usage include: detecting leaks, using low-flow water aerators (some of which can be purchased for as little as $2), implementing dry cleaning methods such as using a broom first, reducing water pressure and featuring xeriscape.

Xeriscaping is a seven-step comprehensive process that can reduce outdoor water use by as much as 50 percent. A popular method in many drought-ridden states, xeriscaping effectively combines planting and design, soil analysis and improvements, plant selection, turfgrass management, irrigation, mulches and maintenance.

Using less energy can also conserve water. Volumes of water are needed to produce the energy that powers commercial buildings. The less energy used in commercial properties, the more water that is conserved. By turning off unneeded lights, using energy-efficient lighting fixtures and restricting air conditioning use during the weekends, water efficiency can be increased.

Native Hawaiians divided the land into ahupua‘a — subdivisions running from the ocean to the mountains, roughly defined by their watersheds. With the approaching 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day in 2020, now is a good time to reflect on cultural lessons about water conservation and what they mean in the modern commercial world.

The Hawaii Fresh Water Council, organized in 2013 by the Hawaii Community Foundation, established a goal of creating 100 million gallons per day (mgd) in additional, reliable fresh water capacity for our islands by 2030. To achieve this ambitious goal, the council advocates for conservation, recharge and reuse.

Conservation means to improve the efficiency of Hawaii’s total daily fresh groundwater water use rate by 8 percent from the current 330 gallons per day per person to 305 gallons per day per person. Recharge means to increase Hawaii’s ability to capture rainwater in key aquifer areas by improving storm water capture and nearly doubling the size of our actively protected watershed areas. Reuse means that the council seeks to more than double the amount of wastewater currently being reused in Hawaii to 50 mgd.

The foundation recently provided grant funding to promote commercial and industrial property water conservation improvement. The water savings potential in commercial property is worth diving in to conservation efforts.

Dricka Thobois is the sustainability chairwoman for the Building Owners and Managers Association Hawaii, which is holding a public expo about water sustainability 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday at Bishop Square’s Tamarind Park.