Even when a hospital’s water costs are so low that it seems there are no more savings to be had, Water Saver Solutions helps clients find a way. Just ask Greg Eikam, Director of Facility Maintenance for the University of California Irvine Medical Center (UCIMC) in Orange.
“The best aspect of working with Water Savers Solutions is their depth of knowledge and their tenacity. They found a faucet laminar with an antimicrobial component, which not only saves money and reduces water usage, but also protects patients. They got really creative and supplemented [my budget] with rebates and incentives from the Metropolitan Water District, MWDOC and The Gas Company. I would never have had the knowledge to find the rebates Water Saver Solutions found.”
Greg Eikam Director, Facility Maintenance University of California Irvine Medical Center
UCIMC enlisted Water Saver Solutions to audit its 31-building campus during the recent drought, after Gov. Jerry Brown called for a 20% reduction in water usage statewide. During the audit process, University of California President Janet Napolitano set an additional goal of reducing per capita water use throughout the UC system 20 percent by the year 2020, and 36 percent by the year 2025.
From cooling towers to domestic fixtures and sterilizers, Water Saver Solutions identified many opportunities to save water at UCIMC. There was only one problem: UCIMC’s water costs were already so low that Eikam was worried about ROI.
“The City of Orange [where UCIMC is located] has one of the lowest costs for water in California,” he explains. “That makes it hard to do a project like this and have any kind of payback.”
So before Water Saver Solutions started work on the project, they went to work finding ways to help UCIMC supplement its budget. By capitalizing on more than $150,000 in utility and water company rebates and incentives, Water Saver Solutions was able to deliver an average project ROI of 2.7 years-for some projects, less than 1 year.
“I would never have had the knowledge to find those rebates,” says Eikam. Water Saver Solutions worked with the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) Water Savings Incentive Program, Southern California Gas, the Metropolitan Water District, and the City of Orange Water Division to obtain and manage rebates.
Thanks to Water Saver Solutions, UCIMC has already surpassed its 2025 conservation goal, cutting water usage by 37 percent. But the project delivered more than just cost savings and water conservation: By installing faucet laminars with an antimicrobial component and providing an ongoing maintenance program, Water Saver Solutions also helped the hospital protect patients.
As the UCIMC campus adds more buildings to its 1.3M GSF, Water Saver Solutions will continue working with the facility to reduce landscape water usage with water-saving irrigation systems.