The Southwest Florida Water Management District and Pinellas County are looking for industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) businesses to participate in a pilot program to help them conserve water and save money.
The ICI pilot project involves offering rebates to ICI customers within Pinellas Countys retail and wholesale water service areas who demonstrate they have taken steps to save water such as installing water-conserving equipment, appliances or devices. Water use among ICI businesses accounts for about one-third of the water demand, or about 36 million gallons per day (mgd), in Pinellas County.
As part of the program, a Pinellas County adult care living facility and a golf course both converted their cooling towers from using potable water to reclaimed water. The conversion resulted in each business offsetting about 4,000 gallons per day (gpd) of potable water and saving approximately $1,000 per month in water and sewer costs.
District and county staff will select participants and set the rebate amount, which will be up to $20,000 per participant. The county will administer the project and issue the rebates.
This project is expected to cost up to $300,000. Pinellas County will receive up to $150,000 from the District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board.
District and county staff are looking for local contracting firms, technical representatives or other specialists with experience in water conservation to evaluate potential customers’ facilities for water efficiency, recommend changes a customer could make to increase water efficiency and assist the customer in purchasing and installing the equipment or devices needed to increase water efficiency. Experienced contractors are asked to submit an expression of interest and statement of qualification to Pinellas County Utilities, 14 South Fort Harrison, 3rd Floor, Alternate Water Sources, Clearwater, Florida 33756, Attention: Wayne West.