To help its member airports manage their water consumption effectively, Airports Council North America (ACI-NA) have produced best practice guidelines that set out methods by which airports can reduce waste. Since the development of ACI-NA Environmental Goals in 2009 (of which water efficiency is one), over 60% of airports responding to the environmental benchmarking survey have developed water conservation programmes, and approximately 30% of the respondents have set specific water use reduction goals.
The advice contained in the guidelines include:
o Installing low-flow plumbing fixtures in terminals and administrative buildings such as: automatic shutoff fixtures; waterless urinals; and low-flow toilets and faucets;
o Utilising native or drought-tolerant plant species for landscaping;
o Using gray water for landscaping; capture and collect rain water for non-potable uses;
o Partnering with tenants to develop water conservation strategies for airport businesses, for example, rental car facility car washing with reclaimed or “gray” water;
o Training and education of airport staff;
o Promoting water conservation to airport passengers;
o Coordinating with local water utility;
o Optimising cooling tower makeup water consumption, convert open loop evaporative humidifiers with closed loop versions, replace open loop water cooled condensers by air cooled, or closed-loop water cooled condensers.