U.S. Water News Online
DENVER -- The pungent aroma of beer swirls through the air as ``the bloodhound'' tracks his quarry.
Cloaked in a white lab coat, Elis Owens is on the trail of water-saving measures for Flying Dog Brewery, a crucial task that many companies are doing because of mandatory restrictions and stiff surcharges for excess water use.
Some, like Flying Dog, are recycling water. A hospital is using air-cooled rather than water-cooled equipment. Car wash operators are cutting water pressure on wands.
``It's a little frustrating for us because we're still being hit with surcharges even though we are using water more efficiently,'' said Owens, director of quality and purchasing.
Faced with the worst drought in recorded history, many cities imposed summer restrictions and surcharges to bolster water conservation. Some require large users to cut consumption by at least 30 percent as long as surcharges remain in effect.
In Denver, which serves 1.2 million customers, drought surcharges range between $3 and $6.47 per thousand gallons of water over the limit.
A March blizzard and wet spring have eased conditions, but officials at the city's water department say there still is the potential for water shortages.
While companies understand the need to conserve, managers say higher water costs are hurting their bottom lines in a stagnant economy. Some warn the additional cost could trickle down to consumers.
Amid brick warehouses, neo-industrial lofts, pubs and galleries in LoDo -- lower downtown -- sits Flying Dog, a microbrewery known for its line of ales branded with a frenetic breed of dogs conceived by Gonzo artist Ralph Steadman.
The brewery is recycling water and tweaking schedules to produce more beer between cleaning cycles, said Owens, a Welsh-born microbiologist nicknamed ``the bloodhound.''
During February and March, the brewery produced 61,000 cases of beer with 843,000 gallons of water, compared with 36,000 cases and 653,000 gallons of water during the same period of 2001. Owens said there are no plans to hike beer prices to offset the added cost.
Owens could not estimate how much the company expects to pay in drought surcharges.
The expanding Denver Health Medical Center expects to pay tens of thousands of dollars more for water this year than in 2001 when it used 63 million gallons, engineering manager Jerry McFarland said. He could not estimate the amount of water that will be used this year.
Conservation efforts since 2001 have saved the hospital 2 million gallons of water per year, or $7,000 annually. The goal is to offset surcharges with savings from new equipment and rebate projects, he said.
For example, the hospital uses air-cooled rather than water-cooled sterilizers, boilers and surgical vacuums.
McFarland could not say how increased water costs might trickle down to patient, but said, ``Everything seems to get passed on to the consumer at some point.''
Car wash operators report a 10 percent to 20 percent drop in business due to the drought since the beginning of the year.
``It's a double-whammy for us. We've not only lost business from people trying to save water by not washing their cars often, but then we're surcharged for that water,'' said Doug Christ, president of the 150-member Rocky Mountain Car Wash Association.
Under a program worked out with Front Range water utilities, operators are reducing water pressure on wands and recycling water for some rinse cycles. Waste water is sent to treatment plants for reuse.
``People feel guilty about using a car wash,'' Christ said. ``They should feel guilty about washing in a driveway.''
Denver's water department has operated an incentive program for six years that pays up to $40,000 per project to businesses that implement long-term, water-saving changes. To date, 50 companies have enrolled.
``They come up with the project, install the project, track savings and, at the end of the year, we write them a check,'' Reed said.
``We're all in this together. In the long haul, everybody will look at water differently.''
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