SPRINT- Southern Operations
Leesburg, Florida

"Initial skepticism caused us to install several test installations in some of our "high use" areas before we actually proceeded with this project.  Today, the HydroEnhanced retrofit conversions are obviously saving the company money."

Description:

This water retrofit project included all of the bathroom fixtures contained within twelve of Sprint's larger buildings located in the central Florida area.  The buildings contained a total of 231 toilets.  These fixtures, a mixture of flushometers and tank toilets, used daily by over 2,300 Sprint employees provided the central focus for the retrofit conversion.  Combined water/sewer rates among the properties ranged from a low of $1.45 per 1,000 gallons in Leesburg, to over $6.40 in the Orlando suburb of Winter Park.  The average rate for the twelve properties was approximately $4.80.

Retrofit Goals:

The primary goal of the HydroEnhanced retrofit conversion was to improve the functionality of the existing fixtures while, at the same time, reducing the consumption of water as much as possible.  Toilets that had been using over 5 gallons per flush were to be converted to use 2.5 gallons efficiently.  Lavatory sinks, which had been using over 2 gallons per minute, would be fitted with special HydroEnhanced approved brass moderators, in order to reduce their flow rates to 1/2 gallon.  This is the rate established as adequate for common tasks such as hand washing.  Breakroom and lounge sinks would also receive moderators reducing their flow rates from 2.5 to 1 gallon per minute.

Constraints:

The only constraint to installing the project was limited availability of access time to the facilities.  The HydroEnhanced Authorized Dealer agreed to conduct most of the conversion after hours, so as to minimize the inconvenience to Sprint employees and staff.

Results:

The standard ANSI test for determining the flush effectiveness of a toilet is demonstrated by the fixture's ability to dispose of 40 sheets of shredded toilet tissue with one flush.  The standard HydroEnhanced Lab's test of a fixture's flushing effectiveness, after conversion, is demonstrated by its ability to dispose of 60 sheets of shredded tissue.  This new HydroEnhanced efficiency measure became the standard by which all fixtures were evaluated for their functionality after conversion.

All existing Coyne-Delaney flush valves and older model Sloan valves were replaced with new Sloan Regal valves.  In addition, where applicable, urinals were converted to use new electronic automatic flush valves.

As scheduled, this retrofit project was performed by the HydroEnhanced Dealer in less than three weeks.  The total water savings for the twelve building conversion are projected to be over 264,900 gallons per month or over 3,100,000 gallons annually.

The annual combined water and sewer savings are estimated to be over $18,000 per year.  These savings will payback the initial project investment of $43,528 in less than 2 1/2 years.  Those few toilets that had been causing problems by short flushing were adjusted to work perfectly and downstream maintenance has been reduced and simplified by using all HydroEnhanced Laboratories' certified long-lasting components.

Environmental:

Sprint has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Environmental Protection Agency to become a member of the EPA's WAVE Program.  The company’s commitment to reduce its domestic water consumption to a “functionality maintained” absolute minimum was recognized by the Institute for Energy Information (IEI).

United Energy Associates, Inc.  11 Hickory Way, Winter Haven, FL 33881  phone: (863)-299-9465
www.conservacap.com