Water Conservation Practices, Worldwide

The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) provides food and other products to the U.S. military through a network of 250 commissaries and distribution centers worldwide. To identify potential opportunities to conserve water, DeCA partnered with RS&H to investigate and stop its most obvious water waster – leaks.

RS&H designed a plumbing leak detection program that monitored minimum water flows at the agency’s facilities overnight when there was limited store activity. When compared to daily averages, the team was able to use the data to determine potential plumbing leaks and offer solutions.

In addition, RS&H worked with DeCA to identify cost-effective policies, practices, and procedures to further reduce its water use. These water conservation practices included the use of low-flow aerators on water faucets and automatic shut-off nozzles on hose fixtures.
As a result of these efforts, DeCA has conserved over 56 million gallons of water and realized more than $225,000 in cost avoidance.