IMPACT OF WATER COST

IN HOSPITALS

By

Dr. Gurbir Singh

Regional Medical Director (North)

Fortis Healthcare Ltd.

Water Requirement Sr. No. Litres/head/day

1 Hospitals:

1. No. of beds > 100

2. No. of beds <100

450

350

2. Hotel 180

3. Hostels 135

4. Nurse’s home medical quarters 135

5. Boarding schools/colleges 135

6. Restaurants 70/seat

7. Airports 70

Healthcare facilities consistently fall

within the Top Ten Consumers of water

in the community,

WATER REQUIREMENT IN

HOSPITALS

HOSPITALS COST SAVING-

WATER EFFICIENCY

Hospitals are realizing water-utility costs savings by reducing water consumption. In

some cases, water-efficiency measures also reduce energy costs. Savings generally result from a combination of Behavioral

And Technological solutions.

Decrease consumption

Reduce energy cost

Water use per capita ranges from 40

gallons per day to 350 gallons per day,

depending on such factors as

• Geographical Location;

• Services Provided;

• Size, Age, And Type Of Buildings;

• And Water-use Equipment And

Practices.

Getting started....

• Establishing a Comprehensive Water Management Program

• It involves the participation of the local utility and a wide variety of stakeholders, both inside and outside of the hospital.

• Decision-makers must be particularly sensitive to issues of infection control and the potential for contamination of portable water supplies.

Water Conservation Programs

Hospitals that have conducted

successful water use reduction

programs have been able to

reduce water use by

approximately 20 to 30%.

AREAS OF SAVINGS

1. Small behavioral adjustments

2. Operations and maintenance

fixes that can result in major

savings.

3. Older buildings typically

squander a tremendous amount

of sanitary water(For example,

one leaking toilet alone can

waste more than 50 gallons of

water every day; one dripping

faucet or showerhead can waste

up to 1,000 gallons per week.)

4. Hospitals can realize significant

savings by upgrading toilet,

shower, and faucet

technologies.

5. The HVAC system

• Consuming less hot water

reduces the energy needed to

heat water in boilers.

• Reducing the cooling load on a

system with a cooling tower

decreases the need for

heat rejection.

• Optimizing the controls for a

chilled water plant can save

both water and energy.

Implementation of Water

Conservation Changes

Audit current water use.

Identify water

conservation

opportunities

Determine cost

of opportunities and potential return

on investme

nt

Prioritize water

conservation

opportunities.

Develop a

phased plan that fits your budget.

Obtain funding(revise plan, if

necessary).

Implement plan.

Measure and

document

success.

Water Conservation

Opportunities

The Basics

• EMPLOYEE AWARENESS

•

• INCREASE PATIENT AND VISITOR AWARENESS

• LOCATE AND CORRECT DRIPS, LEAKS, AND UNNECESSARY FLOWS in bathrooms, laundry, kitchen, labs, etc.

• REPAIR/ADJUST FLUSH MECHANISMS on toilets so that they work as designed.

• IRRIGATE GROUNDS AND WASH VEHICLES LESS OFTEN.

Leakage

Domestic Water Reduction

TOILET TANK WATER

DISPLACEMENT DEVICES RETROFIT FLUSH METER Toilets and urinals.

Sinks and showers

FLOW REDUCERS AUTOMATIC SHUTOFF VALVES OR MOTION

SENSOR-ACTIVATED FAUCETS

EFS Bath fittings

Taski Fresh Clean Urinal Systems

* These Taski Fresh and Clean Urinal screens requires no flushings and one

screen costs Rs 250/ and lasts for 4 weeks thus saving lots of water.

Process Equipment

• General. As appliances andequipment wear out, replace with aircooled or water-saving models.

• Steam traps.

• Sterilization equipment. – Install steam condensate temping

systems

– Replace water-induced vacuumdevices on sterilizers with electricpumps

• Film processors.

• Refrigeration equipment.

Water Reuse

• Radiation therapy linear accelerator(creates high-energy radiation to treat cancers). Water can be taken from the reject side of the linear accelerator heat exchangers and pumped to the facility’s cooling towers and reused for evaporative cooling.

• Reverse osmosis (RO). Reject water produced in the RO process can be reclaimed for non-miscellaneous potable water use or in the cooling towers.

Water Supply/Systems

• Water pressure. Install pressure-reducing valves where system pressure is higher than 60 psi.

• Cooling towers. – Reduce excessive blow down. Operate cooling towers near

manufacturer recommended level of total dissolved solids (TDS).

– Consider using ozone as a cooling tower treatment to reduce water used for make-up.

• Boiler. Return steam condensate to boiler for reuse.

• Sprinklers. – Minimize water use for irrigation (e.g., adjust repair sprinklers,

install wet weather shutoff and/or soil moisture controllers).

– Investigate sources of used water.

Kitchen

• Dish washing.

– Wash full loads only.

• Other.

– Turn off the continuous flow used to clean the

drain trays of the coffee/soda beverage island

(only clean the trays as needed).

Laundry

• Washers.

– Reprogram machines to eliminate additional

rinse cycles, if possible and not restricted by

the health department.

– Wash full loads only or reduce water levels to

minimize water required per load of washing.

Water Consumption at FHMWater Consumption

S. No. Details of water RequirementWater Requirement

(KL/day)

1

Water Required @ 550 litres

/person/day for 350 beds = 350x550192.5

2

Water required @ 45 litres / person/day

for 2200= 2200x4599

3

Visitors @20 litres/person/day for

1600=1600x2032

4

Water required for green area 5980 sqm

@ 5.5 ltr/sqm33

5 Day care beds 54

Total water required (KL/DAY) Excluding

water required for green area

410.5

40%

13%10%

10%

8%

6%

5%

8%

Restrooms

Cooling & Heating

Sterlizers

Laundary

Kitchen

X-Ray Processing

Landscape

Leaks

WATER SAVINGS At FHM

Water Consumption

S. No.

Water savings from STP Water

Recirculation

Amount Saved(Rs

PA)

1Treated STP Water reused @

150KL/DayRs.3,42,187

2Using Clean urinal screen in urinals

saved 1.2KL/day *Rs.47,000

3Savings from Cooling towers Rs.2,78,550

Total savings Rs.6,67,737

* These Taski Fresh and Clean Urinal screens requires no flushings and one

screen costs Rs 250/ and lasts for 4 weeks thus saving lots of water.