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Swiftmud asks hotels to decrease water use
By RICHARD DANIELSON, Times Staff Writer Pinellas hotels and motels use water for everything from washing bed linens and towels to filling the swimming pool and ice machine. Now the Southwest Florida Water Management District wants to know whether those businesses can help conserve water. Last week, Swiftmud's governing board voted to spend $135,000 on a two-year program to reach out to hotel and motel owners, managers and guests. The money will be used to hire someone to develop a conservation program with the innkeepers. Along with Swiftmud, the program will involve Pinellas County's utilities department, the Hotel and Motel Association and the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. "There had been some attempts years ago to get something started, but the problem is that it's such a time-intensive project," because of the sheer number of businesses to be contacted, Swiftmud spokesman Mike Molligan said. "You need to dedicate somebody for that project." The new program started at the request of Swiftmud's Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board, which includes Pinellas County and the part of southwest Pasco from U.S. 41 to the Gulf of Mexico. The program will be directed at hotels and motels within the district, including Pasco. "We're looking for success stories" about water conservation, Molligan said. "We want to promote these success stories to other motels and hotels. It's not only saving water, it's also saving money, because water is money." At the Renaissance Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg, conservation efforts reduced the hotel's water consumption last year by 3.5-million gallons, according to Vinoy director of engineering Mike Marx. "We take meter readings daily, so we're constantly monitoring our water usage," Marx said. At the same time, the hotel tries to cut usage in ways that guests won't notice. "We try to make sure that all the washers are loaded to capacity," Marx said. "We certainly don't want to do a half-load and use as much water as you would if you were washing a full load. That's just horse sense." In the kitchen, chefs have been encouraged not to use running water to thaw frozen food, but to move whatever needs thawing from the freezer to the cooler a day ahead of time. A number of hotels and motels along the Gulf beaches already are attempting to conserve water -- from asking guests to use towels more than one day to installing low-flow shower heads and toilets. The Don CeSar Beach Resort and Spa on St. Pete Beach recently completed a $20-million renovation that included replacement of all guest room plumbing fixtures. "In the year since we completed the renovations, we have seen a significant drop in our water costs," said John Jones, director of engineering at the Don. He said the hotel also has shortened its fill and rinse cycles to reduce the amount of water used by the laundry department and uses reclaimed water for all irrigation. The Tradewinds Sirata, Island Grande and Sandpiper hotels, also in St. Pete Beach, have an "aggressive water conservation program," according to Phil Strnad, general manager. "Our Project Planet saves tremendous amounts of water," Strnad said. Printed materials are placed in each guest room inviting guests to decline daily freshly washed bed and bath linens. Whenever bath fixtures need replacing, the hotels install low-flow shower heads and toilets. The North Redington Beach Hilton features a "Save Mother Earth" water conservation program that includes guest room notices in six languages allowing guests to opt out of daily fresh linens. A guest newsletter devotes half its space to asking guests to help conserve water, according to spokeswoman Rene Maleski. A new water system was completed Monday at the Holiday Inn on Madeira Beach that general manager Jay Dempsey expects will result in less water being used in guest showers. The hotel also places conservation notices in guest rooms. Swiftmud's new program is expected to unfold in three phases. First the groups involved will set up an advisory committee. That committee will develop the program and the materials and research what hotels and motels already do to conserve water. The committee also will work with the county utilities department to do water audits at hotels and motels. Second, signs or other materials regarding conservation will be created and handed out. The third phase of the program will look at whether the effort has worked and how it could be improved or expanded. This is not the only way Swiftmud works with businesses to promote conservation, Molligan said. The district distributes xeriscaping information through Home Depot and other water-saving tips through some local restaurants. Extending those efforts to hotels only makes sense because it saves both water and money, said Swiftmud governing board treasurer Watson Haynes II, who suggested the program Haynes smiled the first time he stayed in a hotel with a conservation program. "Most (hotel guests) have no problem with it, he said. "The first time I went to a hotel out of state, I can't even remember when it was, they left me a note saying I have a choice when I want them to do my linen and when I want them to do my towels. . . . It made me think."
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