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International Journal of Environmental, Chemical, Ecological, Geological and Geophysical Engineering Vol:6, No:8, 2012
International Science Index, Environmental and Ecological Engineering Vol:6, No:8, 2012 waset.org/Publication/13403
Fu E. Tang
AbstractIn the effort to reduce water consumption for resorts,
more water conservation practices need to be implemented. Hence
water audits need to be performed to obtain a baseline of water
consumption, before planning water conservation practices. In this
study, a water audit framework specifically for resorts was created,
and the audit was performed on two resorts: Resort A in Langkawi,
Malaysia; and Resort B in Miri, Malaysia. From the audit, the total
daily water consumption for Resorts A and B were estimated to be
180m3 and 330 m3 respectively, while the actual water consumption
(based on water meter readings) were 175 m3 and 325 m3. This
suggests that the audit framework is reasonably accurate and may be
used to account for most of the water consumption sources in a
resort. The daily water consumption per guest is about 500 litres. The
water consumption of both resorts is poorly rated compared with
established benchmarks. Water conservation measures were
suggested for both resorts.
Keywordswater consumption patterns, water conservation
practices, water audit, water audit framework.
I. INTRODUCTION
is a very important component in the economy
TOURISM
of many countries. The World Tourism Organization
estimates that there are more than 633 million international
travelers in 1999 and is poised to grow at a rate of 4.1% a year
through the first two decades of the new millenium [1]. The
hospitality sector is also one of the largest employers.
According to the 2007 survey conducted by the National
Restaurant Association there are over 12.8 million people
employed in over 935 000 locations in the United States [2].
In particular, the highest growth rates in tourism are attributed
to the Asian tourism industry in general. This rapid growth in
tourism will have a significant detrimental impact on the
environment, as more and more hotels will need to be built to
cater for the increased tourist arrivals.
Hotels and resorts are also large users of water. Therefore,
through water conservation, hoteliers can save money and help
towards protecting the environment. Water conservation also
provides other benefits, such as reduced infrastructure costs to
store water, pumps, and reduced volumes of wastewater that
need to be treated and discharged to the sewer or to the
environment. Organizations such as the Green Hotels
Association, the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible
Economies (CERES) and the Green Hotels Initiative are
spreading the benefits of green hotels. Hotel certification
programs such as Green Globe 21 provide hoteliers with
marketable certifications. However, water consumption per
room still remains high in many hotels [3].
F. E. Tang is with Curtin University Sarawak Campus, CDT 250, 98009
Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia (phone:+60 85 443939; fax: +50 85 443837; e-mail:
tang.fu.ee@curtin.edu.my).
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International Science Index, Environmental and Ecological Engineering Vol:6, No:8, 2012 waset.org/Publication/13403
Componen
ts
Water
closets
Guest
rooms
TABLE I
COMPONENTS OF THE WATER AUDIT FRAMEWORK
Areas
Items/usage
Example
measurements
Lobby,
Faucets, toilets, Average flow rate,
offices,
urinals,
estimated duration of
bars,
sprayers,
usage, number of users
restaurants,
showers
and (peak and offpeak),
gyms and others
estimated
water
others
volume per usage,
estimated
water
volume per cleaning
session, number of
cleaning sessions per
day, and others
Toilet,
Faucets, toilets, Average flow rate,
kitchen,
bathtubs,
estimated duration of
Other
internal
uses
External
uses
Water
reuse
Water
meter
readings
others
showers,
Jacuzzi, water
dispensers,
washing
machines,
private pools
Bars,
restaurants,
poolside
bars, salon,
spa,
laundry
service,
baby
sitting,
indoor
pool,
Pools,
fountains,
cooling
towers for
air
conditionin
g, cleaning,
landscaping
,
Showers, pool
maintenance,
volume of water
replaced,
irrigation,
cleaning
Rainwater
capture
(2)
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Landscaping
80444
45%
Cleaning
367
0%
Pools
55
0%
Spa
579
0% Kitchen
10890
6%
Water Closets
681
0%
Laundry
1260
1%
Staff Quarters
6128
4%
Guest Rooms
79817
44%
Guest rooms
Water closets
Other locations
Showers (50%)
Guest
rooms
(92%)
Senior quarters
(4%)
Junior quarters
(3%)
Public (1%)
Restaurant
(64%)
Canteen (26%)
Bathtub (42%)
Toilet (5%)
Faucets (2%)
Bidet (1%)
Spa (5%)
Cleaning
purposes
Laundry (77%)
Housekeeping
(13%)
General cleaning
(10%)
Bar (4%)
Pools (1%)
Water
locations
TABLE III
DAILY WATER CONSUMPTION PER CAPITA AT RESORT A
closet Water
Average number Water
consumption (L)
of persons
consumption per
occupant
Guest rooms
Senior quarters
Junior quarters
Public
508
79817
3509
2620
681
167
23
9
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478
153
292
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International Science Index, Environmental and Ecological Engineering Vol:6, No:8, 2012 waset.org/Publication/13403
Cleaning
808
0%
Pools
Spa
56
210
0%
0%
Kitchen
14838
5%
Laundry
27459
8%
Water Closets
8629
3%
Guest Rooms
148148
45%
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TABLE V
DAILY WATER CONSUMPTION PER CAPITA AT RESORT B
Water
closet Water
Average number Water
locations
consumption (L)
of persons
consumption per
occupant
Guest rooms
148148
308
481
Staff lockers
3825
75
51
Gymnasium
2765
20
39
Public
2039
90
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International Science Index, Environmental and Ecological Engineering Vol:6, No:8, 2012 waset.org/Publication/13403
<440
116 510
510 585
>585
50 150
<585
585 675
675 810
>810
>150
<670
670 - 860
860 985
>985
510
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International Science Index, Environmental and Ecological Engineering Vol:6, No:8, 2012 waset.org/Publication/13403
TABLE VII
WATER EFFICIENCY BENCHMARK FOR GUEST ROOMS BY INTERNATIONAL
TOURISM PARTNERSHIP [10]
Weather
Water Use Rating (Litres/guest.night)
Good
Fair
Poor
Temperate
250
250 - 300
>300
Mediterranean
270
270 - 320
>320
Tropical
300
300 - 350
>350
VII. CONCLUSION
A water audit framework that is suitable for hotels and
resorts was created for this study. The water audit framework
includes flexibility to account for individual water
consumption sources or configurations. From the water audit
carried out with the created water audit framework, for Resort
A, an estimated water consumption of 180m3 per day was
obtained. During the same period, the water consumption was
175m3 per day as recorded from the water meters. For resort
B, the estimated water consumption was 330m3 per day, while
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