AWWA SOURCES59197

With ongoing technical and financial support provided by Seattle Public Utilities, the University of Washington has undertaken an aggressive and highly successful water conservation program. Since peaking in the year 2000 at over 2 MGD, water consumption for UW facilities in Seattle has now been reduced by over 20%. This has resulted in savings to UW of over $1.5 million per year at 2004 rates. As additional measures are completed over the next two years, water consumption is projected to drop an additional 10%. Primary water conservation measures implemented by UW include cooling tower upgrades, conversion of water cooled refrigeration units to air cooled, leak and failed equipment repair, installation of waterless urinals, installation of low flow toilets, replacement of water cooled vacuum pumps with air cooled units, irrigation upgrades, installation of water efficient clothes washers, and upgrades to steam sterilizers and stills. Of all of these measures, excluding repair of failed equipment, the most dramatic and cost effective savings can be attributed to addition or trap cooling water conservation kits to the steam sterilizers. This paper presents details of the testing process used at University of Washington to evaluate the various models of sterilizer trap cooling water conservation kits currently available. Includes tables.