Prime sites for water saving
February 10th 2006

JD Wetherspoon provides an excellent case study of how the introduction of water management systems can prevent water waste and ensure washrooms smell fresh and remain in operation whatever the demands placed on them.

The JD Wetherspoon chain of 650 pubs has embarked on a programme of installing watersaving devices throughout its properties. It has had to do this despite the tendency for men’s urinal facilities to become blocked which causes flooding, noxious odours and expensive downtime and remedial work.

Development manager Andy Kavanagh has chosen the Infra Red Cistermiser (IRC) flush control. This is an electronic alternative to the original hydraulic Cistermiser valves with which the company pioneered the washroom water-saving sector after the 1976 drought and made the name Cistermiser almost generic for washroom water management.

Until then and still in many lavatories today, mens’ urinals contained automatic flushing cisterns which flushed four times an hour regardless of washroom usage to ensure urinals remained clear. The result is a huge waste of water. As water and sewerage costs continue to rise, major retail chains are increasingly aware of the costs of this resource.

Cistermiser’s products allow users to have clean, fresh-smelling washrooms with much lower water consumption.

These valves can save around 80% of water otherwise wasted by uncontrolled automatic flushing cisterns and the same in the costs of sewerage. Using OFWAT’s 2004-5 figures Cistermiser calculates that each IRC installed will pay for itself in under six months, even after labour costs and, on average, save almost £500 a cistern or a minimum of £300 000 a year across 650 urinal cisterns. As some pubs have two or three urinal cisterns, the savings across the whole Wetherspoon chain may actually be even higher than this.

It is a legal requirement under the Water Regulations to fit urinal flush controls like the IRC and JD Wetherspoon will derive additional benefits to just the water savings as the IRC has recently been placed on DEFRA’s Water Technology List which means that they can claim an Enhanced Capital Allowance and write off the whole cost of the product and installation against tax in the year of purchase.

The IRC has an integral hygiene flush which causes the valve to flush once every twelve hours even when pub facilities are not in use. One of the valve’s patented features is a variable flow control which allows the user to adjust the flow rate into the cistern and therefore precisely the frequency of flushing. As IRC is only activated when the washroom is used, the product will only flush when required and not just on a timed schedule as happens with some devices without regard to volume of washroom use. Another patent allows the user to mount the infra-red sensor directly on the pipework which makes retrofits very quick. The sensor can also be either ceiling-mounted to avoid vandalism or fixed directly on the wall. Mains and battery powered options are supplied in the same box as the valve so the installer always has the right product on site.

To prevent washroom smells and blockages J D Wetherspoon decided on Cistermiser’s Freeway urinal waste pipe filters which work best in conjunction with water-saving devices such as the IRC. All too often in pubs, as in hospitals, general washrooms and other public buildings, cigarette butts, sweet papers, chewing gum, food wrappings and human hair cause urinal blockages, often in conjunction with partly used antiseptic blocks. These blockages lead to unpleasant smells and flooding.

Freeway includes safe and easily replaceable Bioblocks which prevent the odours caused by a build-up of uric acid and calcareous deposits and the blocks, unlike loose ones, cannot contribute to any potential blockages. The filters stand proud of accumulating debris and have many perforations in the mesh to allow draining of fluids. They are chrome-finished and look as new indefinitely. It is easy for cleaners and pub managers to see when the BioBlocks need replacing and the changeover takes under a minute with the BioBlocks costing pennies – a low cost to pay to ensure a pleasant washroom.

Andy Kavanagh has said on the evidence so far he is delighted with the performance, flexibility and appearance of both the IRC and Freeway and the resultant improvement to J D Wetherspoon’s washrooms and reduction in their water bills.

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