Denver Water offers free placards for hotels to post in rooms, encouraging guests to reuse towels and lines to help save water. See the sample placards:
Contact Denver Water at conservation@denverwater.org to request the signs.
Water use benchmarks
Use these water-use guidelines to make sure you are using water efficiently.
| Bed and Breakfast | 7,925 gallons (30 cubic meters) per bed space per year |
| 2-3 star | 10,566 gallons (40 cubic meters) per bed space per year |
| 4-5 star | 21,133 gallons (80 cubic meters) per bed space per year |
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Guest rooms
- Install low-flow or high-efficiency toilets.
- Install showerheads with a flow of 2.5 gallons per minute or less.
- Install sink aerators to reduce the flow to 1.5 gallons per minute.
- Participate in linen reuse programs.
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Public amenities and staff rooms
- Install low-flow or high-efficiency toilets.
- Install urinals that flush 1 gallon per flush or less.
- Install sink aerators to reduce flow to 1.5 gallons per minute or less.
- Equip ice machines with air-cooled condensers.
- Install aerators on mop sinks to reduce each sink’s flow to 2.5 gallons per minute.
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Heating and Cooling
- Eliminate single-pass (once-through) cooling water in air compressors and other equipment by using chillers, cooling towers or air-cooled equipment.
- Minimize blow-down on cooling towers and boilers by using a conductivity controller.
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Laundry
- Always run full loads of laundry.
- Install ozone systems to reduce water detergent and energy use.
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Kitchens
- Install aerators on kitchen sinks to reduce each faucet’s flow to 2.5 gallons per minute or less.
- Use 1.6 gallons-per-minute pre-rinse spray valves to rinse dishes. Contact Denver Water for a free, professionally installed pre-rinse spray valve. Call 303-628-6009 for more information. Water savings potential: 50,000 gallons per year; energy savings potential: 330 therms for gas hot-water heating per year.
- Use boilerless steamers that consume three gallons per hour or less. Water savings potential: 162,000 gallons per year; energy savings potential: 26,000 kilowatt-hours per year.
- Use energy-efficient flake or nugget machines instead of cube ice machines. Water savings potential: 38,000 gallons per year; energy savings potential: 2,500 kwh per year.
- Defrost food in the refrigerator instead of under running water. Water savings potential: 65,700 gallons per year.
- Use dishwasher equipment that meets efficiency standards set by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency and install steam doors to reduce evaporation. Water savings potential: 450,000 gallons per year.
- Use dishwashers and C-line conveyors with electronic sensors, door switches, etc., to stop water from flowing when they’re not washing.
- Replace worn and missing water jets on dishwashers.
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Irrigation and Landscape
- Follow Denver Water’s watering rules (no watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., and no more than three days a week).
- Do not exceed 18 gallons of water per square foot of irrigated areas.
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Policy
- Include water efficiency in the company’s environmental policy statement.
- Delegate water efficiency responsibilities.
- Establish quantitative water efficiency goals and communicate those goals to employees.
- Inspect for leaks regularly.
- Use a sub-meter and monitor for excessive water consumption or leaks.