Western Water Summit 2019

Join the Conversation!

Our need for water has collided with the realities of reduced water supply and increasingly threatened sources. In many areas, our water management policies and practices are no longer sufficient, costs are rising, and our legal and regulatory framework is out of alignment with current and future hydrologic and climatic conditions.

It’s time to take a hard look at how we address these issues. Be part of the dialogue at this special gathering as we bring together professionals involved in all facets of water management. Groundwater, surface water, wastewater, drinking water, irrigation, water law, reuse, generation, restoration, conservation & efficiency, erosion & sedimentation—it’s all one water. We will explore and collaborate on these topics and more in our primary conference tracks—Water Reuse, Green Infrastructure, Soil & Surface Water, and Water Law.

To find out more information please visit the WesterWaterSummit.com website.

Green Sports Day, will you join us?

This Saturday, October 6, is the third annual Green Sports Day™ and we want to invite you to participate. The Green Sports Alliance is spreading the word about the efforts athletes, fans, and organizations are making to lessen their footprint on our planet. Can we count on you to join us?

Thanks for your continued support of the sports greening movement.  To read more about the Green Sports Alliance, click here.

What Makes an Icon?

Some companies in the US such as Apple, Nike, Harley-Davidson, and IBM have become icons.  Virtually everyone knows who these companies are – and even more – they respect and appreciate these companies.  Many people who have purchased one of their products often feel close to these brands, as if they and their products were a friend.

If you were to ask a marketing professional how to turn a company into an icon, they would likely have just a few suggestions, such as:

·       Recommend that the company continue making quality products

·       Introduce an unusual product

·       Spend lots and lots of money on advertising and promotion

·       Wait about ten or more years and see what happens.

That's usually how many years it takes.  Most people don't know it, but Nike has been around for more than 50 years. It was not until the mid-1980s when word got around that they were making special sneakers for Michael Jordan, and when they made similar sneakers available to the public, that the company emerged as an icon.

Another company that became an icon as a result of introducing a unique product, along with spending lots of money on advertising, was Apple.  While Apple was very popular in the early 1980s, it became an icon with the introduction of the McIntosh in 1984. No one else had a computer like the Macintosh, and while the company struggled for years, it has always held on to its iconic status.

But sometimes, icons emerge because they have stood the test of time. UPS is a perfect example.  There have been delivery companies such as UPS for decades, going back to the early part of the 20th century. In fact, UPS started in 1907.  But over the past 110 years, many delivery companies have come and gone.  UPS stayed. The company grew and eventually went international. UPS became an icon merely because they had staying power.

And it is this staying power that takes us to Waterless Co. Inc. 

Waterless was the first company to offer waterless urinals in North America back in 1991.  Having shown that this technology works, by the early 2000s, several companies, including leading manufacturers of restroom fixtures, also introduced urinals that require no water to operate.  Some of these companies are no longer in business.  Others have found it better that they focus on their core – water-using – products. Still others have entered the market and then walked away, realizing that just one or two players in the waterless urinal industry segment, essentially offer the best in the market.

That pretty much is where we are today.  While we are reluctant to call the company an icon - at least just yet - Waterless Co. Inc. has been around longer than any other player in this industry.  Just like Apple, it introduced a product that was very unusual for its time.  When it began, Waterless Co. Inc. was the only manufacturer producing waterless urinals. While the company did not spend lots and lots of money on advertising, as it is a facility based product, they have managed to get lots of publicity and attention about their waterless urinals in all kinds of industry trade publications.

The thousands of installations Waterless urinals throughout the country and the world has also helped people and facility managers better understand these urinals, how they work, and value their multitude of benefits.

For more information on no-water urinals, contact a Waterless representative at 800-24-6394

Climate Change and Water

On July 28, 2017, carried an article that caught many Americans off guard. While several of us have been focused on the soap opera in Washington, Italian government leaders have been dealing with a much more severe issue: water, or lack thereof. They announced on July 28 that two-thirds of the citizens in Rome are set to have their water reduced to just eight hours a day, effective immediately.

What is planned, at least right now, is a rolling blackout of water. While the water is being piped into one area of the city, it will be turned off in another. The goal is that each district involved will share the burden, but water will still be available somewhere nearby to deal with personal or city emergencies.

"Rome could be just the beginning," said Giampaolo Attanasio, a public infrastructure expert at the advisory firm Ernst & Young. "If the situation doesn’t improve, other large cities [around the world] will have to ration water as well. Small towns already have."

While a great deal of Rome's water is wasted as a result of ancient water infrastructure that, as one observer pointed out, leaks like a sieve, what most experts are pointing to as the main culprit is climate change. In 2017, Italy experienced the second-hottest Spring in more than 200 years. Further, Spring rainfall was only half the amount typically received.

At Lake Bracciano, where Rome gets most of its water, the lake is drying up at the rate of about half an inch per day. This means that each month, the water level goes down 15 inches.

To read more… click here

CAPE TOWN IS AN OMEN

Climate change is going to revolutionize politics in cities across the world.

Rainfall in Cape Town is a dramatic affair. In the winter wet season, ominous clouds and strong winds rumble in from the northwest, carrying with them the life-saving moisture of the Atlantic Ocean and dumping it in cold buckets on the city bowl. For days at a time, storms batter and flood the city and surrounding areas, so much so that the region’s first Portuguese moniker was Cabo das Tormentas: “the Cape of Storms.” But residents accept the thrashing. They embrace it, even, because the rainy season provides all the water there is.

During one of those winter storms, I huddled in a meeting room at the University of Cape Town, catching my breath after a wet sprint through the campus, which is built into the lower slopes of Devil’s Peak. I met with the hydrologist Piotr Wolski to discuss droughts. “I don’t know the workings of the city and the workings of the water supply systems—the pipes, and valves, and how it is managed…

To read more on How Will Climate Change Affect Politics? on theAtlantic.com. click here.

Facilities Find Savings and Green With Waterless Urinal

Today’s building owners and managers are experiencing some unique pressures.  Always interested in finding ways to cut costs as well as attract and retain tenants, they are now also looking to operate their facilities in a more environmentally preferable manner.  Green is no longer just “in,” it is how more and more owners/managers believe they must operate their facilities in order to meet tenant demands and compete in the marketplace. 

Not only are Greener facilities healthier to work in and have less environmental impact, they also make good business sense.  Studies indicate that Green cleaning systems and incorporating the use of other environmentally preferable products and services can actually lower operating costs.  Furthermore, studies also indicate that many high-rise office structures command rents as much as ten percent higher than comparable office space in non-Green buildings.

Restrooms, in particular, are receiving the most attention and scrutiny.  As owners/managers look for new ways to cut costs, while protecting the environment, restroom areas are providing ample opportunities to reduce waste.  Already, most facilities have sensor-controlled, low-flow toilets, sinks, and urinals as well as automatic dispensing systems for paper and soap to help regulate usage. But, many are now considering the installation of waterless or no-flush urinals as another way to cut costs, reduce water usage, be Greener, and secure an additional benefit—to help maintain their restrooms. 

Waterless urinals allow gravity to drain urine into a vertically-designed trap/cylinder, which is filled with a thin layer of liquid sealant that sits in the drain area of the urinal.  As urine passes through the trap/cylinder and sealant, which also blocks and prevents odors from being released into the air, it eventually overflows into a conventional drainpipe, similar to a traditional urinal.

Cutting Costs

Usually, the first savings owners/managers realize when transferring to waterless urinals is how much less expensive they are to install. This is because there are fewer installation requirements.

As the name implies, waterless urinals do not use water.  As a result, none of the normal plumbing paraphernalia—water hook-ups, flush handles, and sensory devices—is required.  Although waterless urinals do require plumbing for drainage, this is a relatively minor part of the installation charge.

But another way waterless urinals save money may not be as obvious.  The cost of pumping water to and through a facility can be expensive.  This cost is initially paid by local water departments, but ultimately, building owners, renters, and taxpayers must foot the bill.  In the US, it is estimated that it can cost anywhere from $.80 to $2.00 per gallon of water to be delivered to a facility, used, and then drained away.

Reduce Water Usage

Reducing water usage and incorporating Greener operating procedures go hand-in-hand.  Most building owners/managers are very surprised when they find out how much water a urinal uses during the course of a year.  Depending on the type of facility, the number of males using the facility, and other factors, the amount of usage can be staggering. 

For instance:

·       In an office with one urinal and 25 male workers, one urinal may use more than 50,000 gallons of water per year.

·       A restaurant with three urinals and an average of 150 male customers per day will use at least 72,000 gallons of water annually.

·       An educational facility with 10 urinals and 300 male students can use as much as 330,000 gallons of water per school year—approximately 185 days.

Finding ways to more efficiently conserve water use is not only Greener and environmentally preferable, but for facilities seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, it is almost mandatory. 

The LEED rating system offers up to five points (out of approximately 32 required) toward certification for buildings that incorporate measures to reduce water usage.  Installing waterless urinals is often one of the easiest and most significant ways to accomplish this.

For more information on waterless urinals and their many benefits, please contact a Waterless Co representative here.