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The First Step to Improving Building Water Efficiency

The first step to improving efficiency in any system is to understand current performance. Since 1999, building owners and managers have tracked the energy performance of well over 25,000 buildings using EPA’s online Portfolio Manager, allowing them to establish a baseline, set goals, and measure progress. Now you can use Portfolio Manager to track and manage water consumption as well.

Commercial buildings use close to 20% of U.S. drinking water supplies. Reducing total commercial building water consumption by just 10% would mean saving well over 2 trillion gallons of water each year. And the savings don’t stop there. Buildings can also achieve significant energy savings through improved efficiency in the use of heated water.

By tracking water use alongside energy use, you can better understand how these resources relate to one another, make integrated management decisions that increase overall efficiency, and verify savings from improvement projects in both energy and water systems. Organizations that manage water and energy performance together can take advantage of this relationship to create greener, more sustainable buildings.

EPA’s new water tracking system lets you track water use and bills in four major categories:

  • Indoor Use
  • Outdoor Use
  • Combined Indoor/Outdoor
  • Wastewater

Enter information from each water meter, and view changes in use over time. The system will display Indoor Use per square foot to help you benchmark your water use over time. Soon EPA will add the ability to benchmark water use in other ways, such as Indoor Use per occupant or student, and ultimately plans to develop a rating system for water efficiency similar to the national energy performance rating system.

To get started, simply login to your Portfolio Manager account and follow the links for adding water meters to your facilities. If you do not have an account, learn how to set one up. Visit EPA’s Water Efficiency Program for more information on water efficiency.