Saving water in your workplace

Managing water use in your business

The following areas are common to small and large enterprises and are the easiest places to start making water - and cost - savings.

Talk to staff about your water savings initiatives. Include water savings policies and procedures in staff inductions.
Display waterwise posters in kitchens, staff rooms and toilets.
Encourage staff to contribute to water savings ideas.
Discuss water efficiency at team meetings and provide regular reports on water use figures.
Appoint a 'water champion' to check meters and monitor water use.
Establish a baseline for water use and set achievable targets for saving water.

Install water-efficient taps. Taps with an aerator or flow restrictor use less water.
Install lever or mixer taps. These save water by quickly reaching a desired temperature.
Fix leaking taps and replace washers. Even a slowly dripping tap can waste 10,000 litres of water over a year.
Avoid washing up under running taps.

Install water-efficient dishwashers. These use 50% less water than average models.
Wait until you have a full load before washing.
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes prior to washing.

Replace single-flush toilets with dual-flush toilets.
Regularly check for leaks and fix immediately.
Install water-efficient urinals. Having smart controls will reduce unnecessary flushing.

You can cut water consumption by using white goods with a high water-efficiency rating. For more information, visit the Australian Government's Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) Scheme website.