look for
Putting WaterSense® to Work
Family Dining Chain Scoops Up
a Big Dip in Water Use
Sector: Restaurants and Other Commercial Kitchens; Focus: Commercial Kitchen Equipment
Project Summary
High water costs in the Pacific Northwest have made water efficiency
an important strategy for restaurants in the region seeking to reduce
operational costs. For Shari's Cafe and Pies, a 24-hour restaurant
chain with 95 locations in the Pacific Northwest, implementing water-
efficient equipment and practices helped reduce water use without
detracting from the customer dining experience.
Working with Ecova®, an energy and sustainability management
company, Shari's underwent water audits in 2010 to identify cost
reduction opportunities across its locations. The audits revealed that
water represented 20 percent of the company's utility costs. Using a
holistic approach to implementing water efficiency measures, Shari's
initially redesigned its dipper wells and installed high-efficiency
equipment at all locations. The chain also found it was critical to
engage employees in its water efficiency efforts. Between 2008 and
2016, Shari's reduced its annual water consumption by approximately
72 million gallons.
Redesigning Dipper Wells
During Ecova's equipment audit, dipper wells stood out as having the
greatest potential for water savings. Dipper wells typically clean and
sanitize utensils (e.g., ice cream scoops) between uses by flowing
water continuously through a spigot into a receiving well Each Shari's
iocation has five dipper wells, and Ecova's audit revealed that the
wells were running heated water 24 hours per day, seven days a
week—wasting 8 million gallons of water per year.
To curb this water waste, Shari's began by turning the fixtures off
during slow service periods and running the wells at their minimum
flow rate. Shari's also replaced broken faucets that would not turn off
with ball valve faucets featuring a homegrown design. To further
reduce dipper well water use, Shari's assessed the feasibility of
installing heated dipper wells, which sanitize utensils while removing
the need for continuously flowing water. During this feasibility
analysis, it was noted that staff were operating the new, heated dipper
wells in the same way as the older version that required continuously
flowing water. To ensure that staff at all sites did not run water
continuously with the heated dipper wells, Shari's added a push-
button metering faucet on the wells, so they were refilled with fresh
Highlights
• Facility Name: Shari's Cafe &
Pies
•	Location: Beaverton, Oregon
(headquarters)
•	Facilities updated: 95
•	Water savings: 330 million
gallons of water between 2008
and 2016
•	Energy savings: 7%
•	Cost savings: $615,000 in
annual water and sewer costs
Ecova's equipment audit identified dipper
wells as having the greatest potential for
water savings.
PHONE (866) WTR-SENS (987-/367) WEBSlTEwww.epa.gov/watersense EMAlLwatersense@epa.gov
A r-QA EPA-832-F-17-0028
WtlTr\ February 2017

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water only as needed without compromising performance. As a result, water and energy costs related to dipper
wells decreased by nearly $600,000 per year across the restaurant chain. On average, the dipper well push
button and metering have helped Shari's locations reduce water use by 35 percent and natural gas use by 12 to
18 percent.
Fine-Tuning Faucets
Prior to Ecova's audits, most of the 520 sinks installed throughout Shari's locations did not have faucet aerators,
which increase water pressure while reducing volume when water is running. As a water-saving measure, Shari's
installed water-efficient faucet aerators on all kitchen and bathroom sinks across its locations. Kitchen sink
aerators provide 1.5 gallons of water per minute (gpm) and bathroom sink aerators flow between 0.5 and 1.0
gpm. The project cost just $8.00 per faucet, but effectively saved $300,000 per year in utility costs while reducing
water consumption by approximately 5 million gallons of water per year.
Shari's took its kitchen upgrades a step further, installing WaterSense labeled pre-rinse spray valves that use just
1.15 gpm. Shari's also worked with its dishwasher rental vendor to replace existing dishwashers with ENERGY
STAR® certified models, reducing dishwasher water use from 3.2 to 1.8 gallons of water per cycle, while also
saving energy needed to heat the water. Shari's also installed ENERGY STAR certified ice machines. For every
100 pounds of ice produced, ENERGY STAR certified models use less than 20 gallons of water.
Savings That Last
Implementing water-efficient practices has allowed Shari's to reduce water use on average by 30 percent since
2008. Despite water and wastewater rate increases, utility expenses have remained flat because of these water
efficiency efforts.
Figure 1: Water Use and Expense Summary and Projections, 2008 through 2020
200,000
180,000
160,000
140,000
120,000
O 100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
^¦Consumption	Est. Consumption ¦ Expense —*— Est. Expense
Acknowledgements
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) WaterSense program acknowledges Ecova Senior Energy
Manager Paul Kuck 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-buildings to access WaterSense at Work best management practices,
tools, case studies, and more.

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