Case Study 2

Elizabeth Lodge, Rushcutters Bay

Elizabeth Lodge is a 126 bed nursing home in Rushcutters Bay, Sydney owned and operated by the Anglican Retirement Village group. Elizbeth Lodge was one of the first facilities to join the Greening Grey Facilities program opting to take up the Water Saver Package.

Leak Detection

The first thing Water Conservation Group did on site was to install a mini data-logger onto the water meter to measure water consumption over a week-long period. The data-logger found a leak on site that was wasting 15 litres per minute, or around 8 million litres per annum. The graph below provides the tell-tale signs of a water leak, with consumption of nearly 1kL per hour in the middle of the night.

Water Management Plan

After the leak had been detected, the next step was to identify where the leak was and how it could be plugged. Ultrasonic listening equipment was used ot identify the location and careful planning identified the bext way to plug the leak and the lowest cost.

At the same time, Water Conservation Group specialists developed a Water Management Plan for the site to determine all the simple water savings measures that were available, including water efficient taps and showerheads, rainwater tanks and dual-flush toilets. An eligible rebate amount was also calculated using funding asisstance from the NSW Government's Climate Change Fund.

Results

The Water Management Plan identified the following economic and environmental outcomes from Elizabeth Lodge's participation in the Program:

Water Savings pa: TBA
Cost of Measures: TBA
Annual Cost Savings: TBA
Greening Grey Program Rebate: TBA

ARV have taken these outstanding results and are now offering more of their sites forward to the Greening Grey Facilities Program.

“ARV have entered the program with an open mind and now we are starting to see the returns, both financially and doing the right thing for the environment. We would recommend the program to any other aged care provider thinking of joining.”

John Shearsby,
Facilities Manager
Anglican Retirement Villages