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This paper addresses the question of how much water could be saved in urban supermarkets if a combination of advancedwater treatment for the cooling systems and other in-store devices were used to conserve water. The study was conducted in SouthernCalifornia under a grant from the California Department of Water Resources, and support from five water districts. Evaporative coolers arethe single largest water use in most supermarkets, and this study focused on three water treatment systems that promised to allow thecoolers to operate at higher cycles of concentration, thus reducing the amount of water needed for bleed. Theoretical calculationsindicated that it might be possible to save approximately 490 kgal of water per year on average if the cycles of concentration wereincreased from their starting levels to a minimum of 6.0. In practice, the observed savings were somewhat larger than this, atapproximately 700 kgal per year. Of the three processes studied, however, only the alkalinity control program succeeded in avoidingscale problems. The economics of the sites showed cost benefit ratios of converting to advanced treatment (like alkalinity control)justified the process, averaging 2.1 to 7.6. A certain amount of care is needed in monitoring the program, however, in order to avoidcomplications from phosphate and sulfate scales. Other water conservation measures for these stores included use of flow restrictorsand high efficiency aerators for all sprayers washing faucets, elimination of garbage grinders, use of high pressure washers for floorand meat department washing and encouraging employees to notify management of leaks and water waste. The overall conclusion ofthe study was that with an aggressive program it should be possible to save up to 800 kgal, or 2.5 af, per store on average over theSouthern California area. Includes tables, figure.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 01/11/2004 Number of Pages: 9 File Size: 1 file , 260 KB