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In June of 2002, the California Urban Water Conservation Council wasawarded a $2.3 million grant on behalf of 30 water utilities in the state by theCalifornia Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The grant is funding a major pre-rinsespray valve replacement program directed at small and medium sized foodservice establishments. The CPUC is funding 70 percent of the Program cost;water utilities are funding the remaining 30%. In this direct-install Program,approximately 17,000 valves will be replaced free of charge by the end of 2003,yielding hot water savings of more than 300 gallons per day per valve.The dishwashing operation in a typical restaurant consumes over two-thirdsof all the water used by that establishment. In some cases, nearly one-half ofthe water used in dishwashing is consumed by this pre-rinse spray valve, which isused to remove food from dishware, utensils, and pans before placing them in thedishwasher. These valves currently can be purchased with a variety of flow rates:most that are purchased and installed are over 3.0-gpm. The efficientreplacement valves being installed in this program use 1.6-gpm or less.Because this program was also the first time that many water utilities wereable to do serious canvassing of the restaurant sector, the Program also includesa data collection component designed to serve as the foundation for a laterprogram phase: that of constructing and implementing another incentive programdirected specifically at the dishwashers, icemakers, or steamers within those samefood service establishments. This voluminous database of 17,000 restaurants willalso be a valuable source of research information for other future waterconservation efforts. This paper presents specific information on how the grant was obtained andthe implementation experiences in the field. The paper provides the reader withinsights as to the methods that worked and which achieved spray valveinstallations (and water savings), as well as the methods and attempts that wereunsuccessful. It will also offer specific recommendations for water utilitiesconsidering any type of conservation outreach to the food service industry.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 01/11/2004 Number of Pages: 6 File Size: 1 file , 230 KB