Next time when you grumble at unenergetic flow of water in the washrooms of a five-star hotel, or if a polite request is kept by your bedside to reuse the towels and bed sheets at least, instead of judging the service standards of the place, take a moment to thank them for doing your bit towards saving water.
When pictures and visuals of people fighting over water in Chennai were splashed across newspapers and channels, the dark reality was not lost on the national capital.
Delhi’s groundwater is depleting at a staggering rate of 10 cm/year, likely to leave it high and literally dry by 2020 when it will run out of groundwater – according to a report by Niti Aayog.
The urgency to save the elixir of life has never been felt so starkly before, and the hospitality sector which, on the onset, will cut a picture of sheer wastage with their expansive swimming pools, ornate fountains gushing copious amount of water, are embracing the need for its conservation.
Luxury hotels in Delhi are driving sustainability initiatives, saving thousands of litres annually.
Both the Taj Palace and The Imperial have installed tap aerators in lobby and guest bathrooms respectively to regulate the flow of water.
Aerators are small attachments that control the amount of water flowing through the tap. The aerator acts as a sieve, separating a single flow of water into multiple tiny streams that introduce air into the water flow.
Also, since there is lesser space for the water to flow through, the flow is reduced resulting in water savings.
“Since the water pressure is maintained, the guest does not feel any difference. The installation of these tap aerators have helped reduce the water flow from each of our taps by 80 to 85 per cent,” says Rothin Banerjee, Director of engineering, Taj Palace.
The Imperial saved 13,447 kilolitres of water in 2018-19, almost 15.12 per cent of the hotel’s annual consumption.
To avoid wastage of water, Taj City Centre, Gurugram and Novotel New Delhi have dual water flushing system and water aerators in the washrooms.
Both the properties also have a rainwater harvesting programme in place as well as reusing wastewater for watering their gardens and plants. Habitat World at India Habitat Centre has set up a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) to treat the wastewater of 300-kilo litres per day (kld).
The treated water is being recycled for horticultural purposes and the treated sold waste is being used as manure.
Suman Majumdar, Director of engineering, Hyatt Regency, Delhi shares, “We recycle 100 per cent of the water used in the hotel through the STP. In 2017, we connected all our plumbing shafts to collect the condenser water from AC to a centralised tank to be used again. We have three active rainwater harvesting pits. Along with them, we are also providing our recycled water to New Delhi Municipal Corporation for their public gardening purpose.”
The hotel has also reduced use of water in guest bathrooms with specially designed shower heads and has waterless urinals in their lobby toilets.
“Conservation of water in the hospitality segment is a game changer as it not only contributes to the profitability of a hotel but also goes long way in the sustainability of operations,” says Halim Ahamad Siddiqui, Director of Engineering for The Westin Gurgaon New Delhi, that has dual flush tanks, sensor taps and urinals in public area restrooms.
The water recycled using the STP plant is reused in flush tanks and watering the gardens.
“We also have hybrid cooling water treatment technology in the hotel to enhance HVAC efficiency and reduce water consumption. This technology delivers significant water savings by increasing cycles of concentration, precipitating hardness in the circulated water, and optimising cooling tower performance using a sophisticated automation program,” he says.
Both the Taj Palace and The Imperial have installed tap aerators in lobby and guest bathrooms to regulate the flow of water.
Aerators are small attachments that control the amount of water flowing through taps.
The aerator acts as a sieve, separating a single flow of water into multiple tiny streams that introduce air into the water flow.