1. Post Consumption Water Use The Hidden Waste
Presented at:
Great Lakes Craft Brewers & Water Conservation Conference
October 26, 2009
Thomas E. Pape
Alliance for Water Efficiency
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

2. Sustainability
Environmental impacts of the total life cycle of products
Product disposal often has the most severe long-term impact on the environment
“Green” consciousness accepts responsibility for the entire lifecycle impacts
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

3. “You can never buy beer, you just rent it”
Water In the Beer Cycle
“You can never buy beer, you just rent it”
– Archie Bunker
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

4. Water Efficiency in Brewing
Measured in pints of water used to produce pints of beer.
Best water saving brewery strategies achieve water use ratios of less than 4 pints of water to produce 1 pint of beer. 4:1
Theoretical perfection of 1:1 (not feasible)
Additional brewing efficiencies likely allows for less than 2 pints additional potential savings for each pint of beer produced.
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

5. The Hidden Water Waste
Current disposal practices use an average of more than 19 pints of water for every 1 pint of beer – 19:1 efficiency ratio
Worst case scenarios use 40 pints of water to dispose of 1 pint of beer – 40:1
More than 10 gallons of water savings are easily available in disposing of every 1 gallon of beer served.
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

6. Water Efficiency in Beer Disposal
The water saving potential is more than 20 times greater in disposal cycle compared to brewing cycle
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

7. The Technology High Efficiency Urinals (HEU)
One pint per flush urinal provide 1:1 efficiency
Beware: Sensor flush valves INCREASE water use!
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

8. The Technology High Efficiency Toilet (HET) 1.28 GPF = 10:1 efficiency
Available in gravity flush, flush-o-meter valve, and pressure-assist technology
Beware: Sensor flush valves INCREASE water use!
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

9. The Technology Dual-Flush Toilet 0.9 Gallon/flush for liquid waste
1.6 GPF for solid waste
7.2:1 Efficiency If used properly
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

10. The Technology Non-water urinals 0:1 Efficiency Vandal resistance
Performance varies by make & model
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

11. Future Technology? Pee-and-go She-inal Urine diverting toilets
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

12. Green Codes Coming Soon
Applicable Green Code Provisions
Require high efficiency urinals and toilets
Require 1 FU upstream of of non-water urinals
Requires sub-metering (major uses & spaces)
Cooling Tower efficiency standards
Require low-flow wash basin faucets
PRSVs, connectionless steamers in kitchens
Rain water harvesting
Allows alternative water sources: stormwater, condensate, graywater, reuse, recycle, etc.
What are your code change needs?

13. The Economics Estimated urinal usage: Estimated women toilet usage
Beerjoint = 200flushes/day = 72,000/yr
Brewpub = 100flushes/day = 36,000/yr
Bar & grill = 75flushes/day = 27,000/yr
Grill & bar = 50flushes/day = 18,000/yr
Estimated women toilet usage
Beerjoint = 100flushes/day = 36,000/yr
Brewpub = 75flushes/day = 27,000/yr
Bar & grill = 50flushes/day = 18,000/yr
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

14. Urinal Economics Water savings of 100flush/day/fixture
Replacing a 1 GPF urinal with 1 pint urinal saves 31,500 gallons per year
$300 investment saves 630,000 gallons over fixture lifespan
$ cost per gallon saved
Water demand = water supply
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

15. Toilet Economics Water savings of 75flush/day/fixture
Replacing a 3.5 GPF toilet with dual flush toilet saves 70,200 gallons per year
$300 investment saves 1,404,000 gallons over fixture lifespan
$ cost per gallon saved
Water demand = water supply
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

16. Implementation Retrofit Own Brewpubs Gather Stakeholders
Brewers, Water Suppliers, Wastewater Service Providers, Retailers, etc/
Share Costs Based on Benefits
Provide Incentives for Retrofits
Rebates, Vouchers, Direct Installations
Exchange water savings for water rights
Join the Alliance for Water Efficiency
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape

17. Alliance for Water Efficiency
a4we.org
Thomas Pape
Technical Advisor
Copyright 2009 – Thomas Pape