Smith
System Manufacturing in Princeton was charged $22,000 for
using about 4.3 million gallons of water in 1999. The manufacturer
of metal office and school furniture wanted to cut its overall
water use. MnTAP intern
Amanda Roivanen, a chemical engineering student at the University
of Minnesota, measured water use at the plant. One significant
finding was that leaks were wasting water, costing the plant
money.
Based on the intern’s calculations
of water use, the plant should have been using about 3.4 million
gallons of water per year—not 4.3. When examining how
and where water was used at the facility the intern tracked
some of the unaccounted-for-water to leaks. Two urinals in
the men’s restroom were constantly running because of
broken handles, the last tank in the five stage metal phosphatizing
operation had a leak and two leaks were found in the stage-five
pump to the risers. If left unrepaired, these leaks could
have cost Smith $24,000 per year.
