The Southwest Florida Water Management District is building upon the success of its award-winning Water Conservation Hotel And Motel Program (Water CHAMP) by launching a new companion program for restaurants.
The program, known as the Water Program for Restaurant Outreach (Water PRO), is being launched to coincide with National Tourism Week, May 10-18.
A restaurant uses an average of 5,800 gallons of water per day, which equals more than two million gallons of water per year.
Water PRO is a free program that helps restaurants conserve water by educating staff and customers. By implementing the Water PRO program, the restaurant management agrees to only serve water upon request, display water conservation materials on tables, conduct self-audits and train staff.
Water PRO invites restaurants and their patrons to save water and money through simple and efficient actions, said Robin Grantham, Water PRO coordinator. By joining Water PRO and installing low-flow spray valves, restaurants can save up to $1,320 per year.
The District will supply free educational materials to participating restaurants, including childrens coloring sheets, table materials and coasters. The District will also provide the restaurants with self-audit checklists and educational workshops on additional ways to save water.
Some of the ways restaurants can save water is by installing low-volume faucets and toilets in bathrooms and by making other simple retrofits. In 2001, the District conducted a water-use evaluation on a Largo restaurant and discovered it could save more than 1.5 million gallons of water a year by replacing spray nozzles with sink aerators, installing low-flow toilets and reducing the flow in dripper wells and continuous flow faucets next to ice cream and butter scoop troughs. Water saved by these retrofits led to a savings of nearly $8,000 a year for the establishment.
For more information about the Districts Water PRO or Water CHAMP, please contact Robin Grantham at 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4782.
Water CHAMP is the District's linens and towel reuse program. As part of the program, the District works with cooperators to supply free educational materials for guest rooms and employees and provides the hotels and motels with educational workshops on additional ways to save water. Becoming a Water CHAMP property can save an average of 50 gallons per occupied room per day. At this time, 366 of the 995 hotels and motels throughout the District's 16-county region participate in Water CHAMP.