Water use efficiency guide launched
by Hana Namrouqa | Jan 27,2012 | 23:01
Hotels in Aqaba consume 35 per cent of water supplied by the Aqaba Water Company, according to officials (File photo)
AMMAN — More than 20 per cent of water consumed by the country’s hotels, categorised as large-water consumers, can be saved if they install plumbing fixtures and adopt efficient water practices, experts said on Thursday.
Hotels in Amman and the Dead Sea consume 20 per cent of the water designated for these areas, while those in Aqaba consume 35 per cent of water supplied by the Aqaba Water Company, officials said yesterday.
In an effort to preserve the Kingdom’s scant water resources and help hotels cut down water consumption and their energy bills, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation yesterday launched the Hotels Water Use Efficiency Guide.
“The guide seeks to introduce the tourism sector to best practices and technologies to achieve water use efficiency,” Ministry of Water and Irrigation Secretary General Maysoon Zu’bi said yesterday at the launch, attended by over 60 hotel managers and directors of hotel maintenance departments.
“The guide includes guidelines on best practices to reduce indoor and outdoor water consumption at hotels, identify leakage sources and how to fix them as well as alternative water sources such as rainwater harvesting and treatment of wastewater and grey water,” she said.
A water audit of 19 hotels in Jordan showed that on average, two-and three-star hotels consume 160 litres/day/guest, four-star hotels 349 litres/day/guest and five star hotels 873 litres/day/guest, according to the guide.
The guide was prepared by the ministry in cooperation with the USAID-funded IDARA (Instituting Water Demand Management in Jordan) project, which has also launched water efficiency guides for several sectors, such as residential, health, high-rise buildings, office premises and gardens.
USAID’s Water Resources and Environment Section Director Thomas Rhodes highlighted the importance of saving water in Jordan, where it is a limited resource.
Linking efficient use of water to pushing the Kingdom’s sustainable development forward, he said the US embassy in Amman will advise US visitors to Jordan to stay at hotels that apply water and energy efficient practices as a motivation for hotels to adopt these practices.
Jordan suffers from acute water shortage and is globally categorised as the fourth water-poorest nation. Given the fact that conventional resources have been depleted to provide people with water, management of water demand and raising public awareness on the importance of water efficiency is vital to meet a rising demand over the precious resource, according to experts and officials.
Figures indicate that water demand management activities can save Jordan 400mcm of water each year.
http://jordantimes.com/hotels-introduced-to-water-conservation-practices