Hotels and motels in both Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa saved 35 million gallons of water during 2004 while participating in the Southwest Florida Water Management District water conservation program known as Water C.H.A.M.P. or Water Conservation Hotel and Motel Program.
Based on City of Tampa and Hillsborough County potable water rates, that translates into more than $180,000 in savings per year to participating hoteliers.
The Water C.H.A.M.P. is a “linens and towels reuse program,” which means the hotel and motel management agrees to launder linens every third day of a guest’s stay unless the guest requests otherwise. This practice has become highly popular in the hotel industry because it can amount to a significant saving in water, energy, chemicals and labor costs.
To support the program, the Tampa Water Department conducted water use surveys at 54 of the participating hotels and motels. The surveys included on-site inspections and billing research. A slight increase in occupancy from 2002 to 2003 was taken into consideration when conducting the research. According to the survey results, all of the properties showed a water savings, and the medium-to-small-sized properties benefited most from the program.
There are now 62 hotels and motels in Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa participating in the Water C.H.A.M.P.
“The Hillsborough County Hotel & Motel Association has been very pleased to support the Water C.H.A.M.P. program,” said Bob Morrison, executive director of the Hillsborough County Hotel and Motel Association. “Our board saw it as an opportunity to provide environmental education to our members which would impact their bottom line and help to save the local water resources.”
The Water C.H.A.M.P. started in 2002 as a two-year pilot program in the
District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin. The program grew to include Hillsborough County in 2003. The Hillsborough County program is a cooperative effort among the District’s Alafia River, Hillsborough River and Northwest Hillsborough basins; the Hillsborough County Water Department, through the Board of County Commissioners; and Tampa Water Department.
When you look at how easy it was for the hotels to implement the program and how much water these hotels are saving, it’s amazing,” said Melissa Roe, project manager. “We hope these results encourage other hotels to sign up for the program.”
For more information on Water C.H.A.M.P. please contact Melissa Roe in the Communications Department of the Southwest Florida Water Management District at 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4708.