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Cost of Water
- Thread starter newy
- Start date
Washmee
Fullservice Tunnel
Based on what I'e seen posted on this forum, I'm almost ashamed to tell you what I pay for water and sewer for my tunnel. One of the advantages of being located on top of one of the countrys largest aquifers is that water is cheap. My cost for water is only the cost of running the 7.5hp pump needed to feed my system. I pay $275/month for sewer. It almost makes up for our crappy economy in Ohio. Amazing huh!
Dean Taylor
Dean Taylor, CATEC.com
I get calls almost daily from people who tell me their water and sewer bills have doubled or or even tripled overnight.... they never go down, unless you reduce your usage.
The best way to combat these cost is to put in a reclaim system. Typically, a good reclaim system will cut your water and sewer by about 70%, depending on how much or little reclaim you want to use. Some sugar coat it and tell you 80% or 90% or more, but the truth is, 70% is a pretty good rule of thumb.
If you have a Spot Free RO rinse system, this is another area you can potentially save a lot of money. These are typically water hogs and all to often the owner's are putting the reject water to drain....big mistake! If you capture that water in a tank and re-pressurize it, you can put it back into your wash processes. This reduces the amount of incoming fresh water, thus reduces sewer cost proportionally. It cost a little upfront but the long-term return can pay for itself over and over.
I actually have clients that tell me they aren't making money washing cars, their real profit is from the savings they see by reducing water and sewer costs. Some have said without a reclaim system, they couldn't afford to be in business.
Reclaim isn't for everyone and in fact I suggest you avoid it if possible. But when it's the difference between profit and no profit or increasing that bottom line, it can certainly be a wise investment.
If your water and sewer bills are over $ 1,000.00 a month, you can usually justify the expense and expect a fair ROI.
The best way to combat these cost is to put in a reclaim system. Typically, a good reclaim system will cut your water and sewer by about 70%, depending on how much or little reclaim you want to use. Some sugar coat it and tell you 80% or 90% or more, but the truth is, 70% is a pretty good rule of thumb.
If you have a Spot Free RO rinse system, this is another area you can potentially save a lot of money. These are typically water hogs and all to often the owner's are putting the reject water to drain....big mistake! If you capture that water in a tank and re-pressurize it, you can put it back into your wash processes. This reduces the amount of incoming fresh water, thus reduces sewer cost proportionally. It cost a little upfront but the long-term return can pay for itself over and over.
I actually have clients that tell me they aren't making money washing cars, their real profit is from the savings they see by reducing water and sewer costs. Some have said without a reclaim system, they couldn't afford to be in business.
Reclaim isn't for everyone and in fact I suggest you avoid it if possible. But when it's the difference between profit and no profit or increasing that bottom line, it can certainly be a wise investment.
If your water and sewer bills are over $ 1,000.00 a month, you can usually justify the expense and expect a fair ROI.
robert roman
Bob Roman
Over the last several years, I have seen start-ups face combined water and sewer usage rates ranging from $3.00 to as much as $14.00 per 1,000 gallons of fresh water.
It seems that $3.00 to $5.00 per 1,000 gallons is fairly typical.
The number of gallons of water used per wash cycle can be difficult to determine and there will rarely, if ever, be one specific value for this factor.
Therefore, it is necessary to compute a value which will represent an estimated number of gallons per cycle.
There are certain techniques which can be used to arrive at a figure which will represent a usable and relatively accurate number.
One technique is to read the water meter as vehicles are being washed. Taking a meter reading before and after a wash is completed is the best way of determining the basic number of cubic feet of water used.
1) Take as many as 10 readings or more and fluctuate the number of washes between readings. This helps to insure that you will have sufficient data to arrive at a reasonably accurate value.
2) Water consumption on the meter is always measured in cubic feet rather than gallons. Once the number of cubic feet has been determined, multiply the number of cubic feet times 7.48 to arrive at the equivalent number of gallons used.
3) The number of gallons will fluctuate based upon the services ordered by the customer. For example, a basic wash may use "X" gallons whereas the "super deluxe" type option may use more water during the wash or rinse cycle.
Another technique is to make an engineering estimate. With this method, total water consumption per carwash is a function of conveyor speed (cars per hour line speed), length of each equipment component in feet, flow rate of each equipment component in gallons per minute and the number of each component used during the wash process.
It seems that $3.00 to $5.00 per 1,000 gallons is fairly typical.
The number of gallons of water used per wash cycle can be difficult to determine and there will rarely, if ever, be one specific value for this factor.
Therefore, it is necessary to compute a value which will represent an estimated number of gallons per cycle.
There are certain techniques which can be used to arrive at a figure which will represent a usable and relatively accurate number.
One technique is to read the water meter as vehicles are being washed. Taking a meter reading before and after a wash is completed is the best way of determining the basic number of cubic feet of water used.
1) Take as many as 10 readings or more and fluctuate the number of washes between readings. This helps to insure that you will have sufficient data to arrive at a reasonably accurate value.
2) Water consumption on the meter is always measured in cubic feet rather than gallons. Once the number of cubic feet has been determined, multiply the number of cubic feet times 7.48 to arrive at the equivalent number of gallons used.
3) The number of gallons will fluctuate based upon the services ordered by the customer. For example, a basic wash may use "X" gallons whereas the "super deluxe" type option may use more water during the wash or rinse cycle.
Another technique is to make an engineering estimate. With this method, total water consumption per carwash is a function of conveyor speed (cars per hour line speed), length of each equipment component in feet, flow rate of each equipment component in gallons per minute and the number of each component used during the wash process.
Dean Taylor
Dean Taylor, CATEC.com
Water and Sewer tap fees is another area where a reclaim system can help. By prooving to the local authorities that you will reduce your water and sewer by more than 70%, they will often times reduce their fees by the same.
Some want you to put in a sewer meter and monitor it for one year and then pay the fee with direct relation to the use. Either way, you can save a bundle up front.
I helped one guy in Georgia get reduced from $ 122,000 to $36,000...saving him an incredible $86,000! It paid for his reclaim equipment and he was still up $50K as well as saving 70% on his water and sewer every month.
This is certainly something that should be considered. There are several good reclaim companies that can help you in this department if you need it.
Some want you to put in a sewer meter and monitor it for one year and then pay the fee with direct relation to the use. Either way, you can save a bundle up front.
I helped one guy in Georgia get reduced from $ 122,000 to $36,000...saving him an incredible $86,000! It paid for his reclaim equipment and he was still up $50K as well as saving 70% on his water and sewer every month.
This is certainly something that should be considered. There are several good reclaim companies that can help you in this department if you need it.
