Friday, July 16, 2010

Water and Sewer Efficiency

The City of Derby Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA - sometimes called a Sewer Commission) bases their Sewer Meter Bill, not on an actual meter of effluent, but rather on the metered amount of water that is consumed from the water utility (formerly Birmingham Utilities, now "South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority" or SCCRWA).

The SCCRWA measures via meter and bills on a quarterly basis for the amount of water consumed at the premises. The WPCA takes that measurement of cubic feet consumed, converts it to gallons, calculates the average daily gallon usage, and bills at a rate set by the Authority.

If we could be efficient in using water, we would save on both a water bill and a sewer bill, a double whammy! As we start this effort, we will first look where we have been.

The WPCA follows a "water year" of April till March. Thus:
2009/mar/13 - 2009/may/27 = 2000
2009/may/27 - 2009/aug/27 = 3200
2009/aug/27 - 2009/dec/28 = 2000
2009/dec/28 - 2010/mar/05 = 3600
Total = 10800 cubic feet or 80,790 gallons for the year (apx).

This is 221.34 gallons / day as a current consumption rate. While we don't use water in any manufacturing process, we will examine what can be done to keep this consumption down.

Water cost: $1387.87
Sewer cost: $792.67
Total from consumption: $2180.54

If we could see a 10% reduction, this would be $218 in savings. In looking for an 8 year payback on the costs of improvement investment, we would be considering a project in the $1600-$2k range. Suggestions welcome.