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Putting WaterSense® to Work
California Campus Cooks Up
Kitchen Water Savings
Sector: Universities; Focus: Commercial Kitchen Equipment
Project Summary
In 2014, California entered its third consecutive year of statewide
drought conditions, with water and sewer costs in Los Angeles
expected to increase by 8 percent annually over the next five years.
For institutions of higher education, these cost increases can affect
tuition rates and other student expenses. Loyola Marymount University
in Los Angeles has worked to curb water waste and cut utility costs by
instituting best management practices in one of its major sources of
water use: commercial kitchens. The university operates four
commercial kitchens and approximately 14 satellite venues,
collectively serving 45,000 customers per week. The Lair Marketplace,
Loyola Marymount's largest dining hall, serves 25,000 guests in one
week alone.
Encouraged by environmentally conscious students, faculty, and staff,
Loyola Marymount specifically addressed water use in its commercial
kitchens by targeting dish rooms, three compartment sinks, hand-
washing sinks, food preparation and disposal areas, water fountains,
and cleaning and sanitation systems. In addition, the university's dining
facilities procure ENERGY STAR® qualified equipment whenever
possible, ensuring that retrofits and replacements are both water- and
energy-efficient. Loyola Marymount's sustainable dining efforts earned
Lair Marketplace a four-star Green Restaurant Association
certification, making Loyola Marymount one of only two universities to
receive this designation as of August 2014. Accounting for its water-
efficient upgrades in its commercial kitchens alone, Loyola Marymount
saved more than 4.7 million gallons of water per year, which translates
to more than $50,000 in water and sewer costs.
Disposing of Inefficient Practices
To boost water efficiency in its food disposal system, Loyola Marymount removed garbage disposals in all of its
kitchens, opting instead to use food pulpers—a water-efficient disposal alternative. Commercial kitchens often use
a garbage disposal and food grinder to dispose of food scraps, with water running continuously to prevent
damage to grinder blades. Loyola Marymount has installed capture baskets to both capture food and recycle
water in a pulper. Food pulpers crush food and send the pulp waste to a bin for disposal or composting. At the
same time, the system extracts excess water from the pulp and can recycle as much as 75 percent of the water
used for the food disposal process.
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Case Study
Highlights
•	University: Loyola Marymount
University
•	Location: Los Angeles,
California
•	Number of occupants:
Approximately 8,000 students
and 2,000 employees
•	Kitchen volume: 45,000
customers per week
•	Water savings: Reduced water
consumption by more than 4.7
million gallons of water per year
•	Cost savings: More than
$50,000 annually in water and
sewer costs
PHONE (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) WEBSITE www.epa.gov/watersenseElviAlLwatersense@epa.gov
A rrm EPA-832-F 14-002-M
V5'CrTr\ September 2014

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Washing Smarter With a FOG Tank
A three-compartment sink—consisting of wash, rinse, and sanitizer
compartments—requires approximately 100 gallons of water to fill, in
addition to flushing and refilling. To take pressure off of the Lair
Marketplace's three compartment sinks, Loyola Marymount added a fats,
oils, and grease (FOG) tank, which decarbonizes pots and pans and
eliminates the need for scrubbing. With 40 gallons of water and a mixed
solution poured into the FOG tank, employees only need to rinse dishes,
saving a trip through the dishwasher. By adding a FOG tank, Loyola
Marymount has saved more than 740,000 gallons of water per year.
Retrofitting and Replacing
Throughout the campus, Loyola Marymount installed
approximately 100 high-efficiency faucet aerators, bringing flow
rates down from 2.2 gallons of water per minute (gpm) to
approximately 1,0 gpm. These high-efficiency aerators save more
than 2 million gallons of water per year. The university also
installed high-efficiency commercial pre-rinse spray valves that
have amounted to more than 1 million gallons of annual water
savings. To develop a culture of environmental stewardship, the
university trained employees on using these new fixtures and
adhering to sustainability practices.
Since commercial dishwashers are one of the largest water users
in commercial kitchens, Loyola Marymount replaced its large,
industrial flight-type washing machines with ENERGY STAR
qualified commercial dishwashers. While the flight-type machines
used 352 gallons of water per rinse cycle, the new dishwashers
require only 98 gallons of water per rinse cycle and use 25 percent
less energy. The dishwasher upgrade saved the university more
than 500,000 gallons of water in just one year. Loyola Marymount also reduced its water use by replacing its air-
cooled ice machines with ENERGY STAR qualified models, which are certified to use 15 percent less energy and
10 percent less water than standard, air-cooled ice machines.
Acknowledgements
The U.S Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) WaterSense program acknowledges Loyola Marymount
University Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Management Services Ray Dennis for providing information for
this case study.
Learn More
To learn more about water efficiency in commercial and institutional buildings, visit the WaterSense website at
www.epa.gov/watersense/commercial to access WaterSense at Work best management practices, tools, case
studies, and more.
Water efficiency upgrades to the Lair
Marketplace have helped save Loyola
Marymount approximately 4.7 million
gallons of water per year.
Water-efficient fixtures help the Lair
Marketplace save water when serving its
25,000 guests each week.

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