Case Studies
Throughout the country, commercial and institutional (C&I) building owners and facility managers are taking actions to reduce their water use, implementing many of the operations and maintenance, retrofit, and replacement projects described in WaterSense's C&I best management practices guide, WaterSense at Work (308 pg, 5.38MB, About PDF).
WaterSense is gathering and documenting case studies to describe successful water efficiency efforts, which will provide an avenue for sharing information within and across C&I sectors. Each case study below provides a detailed description of the project the facility implemented and how much water, energy, and utility costs they were able to save.
To find other water efficiency resources WaterSense has developed for C&I facilities, please visit our Commercial page.
Hotels
Education and Outreach
- Olympic National Park Hotel Reaches Out and Saves (2 pg, 798K, About PDF): Kalaloch Lodge in Forks, Washington, reduced water use by 40 percent between 2011 and 2014, saving 1.4 million gallons of water annually.
Mechanical Systems
- Georgia Hotel Saves $1M Annually by Maximizing Mechanical System (3 pg, 1.15MB, About PDF): The Hyatt Regency Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia, reduced water use by 35 percent over three years.
Outdoor Water Use
- California Golf Resort Hits Hole in One With Outdoor Water Efficiency Efforts (2 pg, 843.4K, About PDF): The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, California, saved more than 48 million gallons of water in one year.
Sanitary Fixtures and Equipment
- Hotel Installs Water–Efficient Sanitary Fixtures (2 pg, 758K, About PDF): The Holiday Inn San Antonio International Airport in San Antonio, Texas, saved 7 million gallons of water per year.
- Laundry Day Means Big Savings for San Antonio, Texas, Hotel (2 pg, 121K, About PDF): The Westin Riverwalk Hotel saved more than 2.2 million gallons of water per year.
- Texas Hotel Upgrades to Four-Star Water Efficiency (2 pg, 861K, About PDF): The Hilton Palacio del Rio Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, reduced its water use by 49 percent between 2004 and 2011.
Water Monitoring and Management
- Global Entertainment Company Gets Wise About Water (3 pg, 696K, About PDF): Caesars Entertainment reduced water use intensity in properties nationwide by 17.8 percent between 2008 and 2012, saving 399 million gallons of water.
Hospitals and Other Medical Facilities
Laboratory and Medical Equipment
- Hospital Installs Water–Efficient Laboratory and Medical Equipment (3 pg, 868.5K, About PDF): The Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, Washington, saved 31 million gallons of water over 10 years.
Office Buildings
Outdoor Water Use
- Office Complex Reduces Outdoor Water Use (2 pg, 773.6K, About PDF): The Granite Park office complex in Plano, Texas, saved 12.5 million gallons in one year.
Laboratories
Mechanical Systems
- Laboratory Eliminates Single–Pass Cooling (2 pg, 865.3K, About PDF): The EPA Mid-Continent Ecology Division Laboratory in Duluth, Minnesota, reduced potable water use by 90 percent.
Water Use Monitoring and Education
- Federal Agency Implements Water Management Strategy (3 pg, 1.10MB, About PDF): EPA laboratories nationwide reduced water use intensity by 18.7 percent over three years.
Restaurants and Other Commercial Kitchens
Commercial Kitchen Equipment
- Restaurants Install Water–Efficient Commercial Kitchen Equipment (3 pg, 843K, About PDF): Uncommon Ground in Chicago, Illinois; The Grey Plume in Omaha, Nebraska; and Founding Farmers in Washington, D.C. saved water, energy, and more.
Universities
Commercial Kitchen Equipment
- California Campus Cooks Up Kitchen Water Savings (2 pg, 623K, About PDF): Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, reduced its water use by more than 4.7 million gallons per year.
Onsite Alternative Water Sources
- University Makes the Most of Onsite Alternative Water Sources (3 pg, 1.51MB, About PDF): The University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas, reduced potable water use by 33 percent over approximately 30 years.
- Cobb County Showers KSU with Campus-Wide Savings (2 pg, 310K, About PDF): Kennesaw State University, Georgia, saved more than 650,000 gallons of water by switching out to WaterSense labeled showerheads.
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