While hospitals are largely exempt from California’s 25 percent water-reduction mandate, some are making strong contributions to the state’s conservation efforts as the drought continues, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management website.

Stanford Health Care in Palo Alto has installed more than 600 laminar-flow restrictors and 150 low-flow fixtures in patient care areas, reduced landscape watering and installed xeriscaping at some facilities, and decommissioned decorative outdoor water features.

Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, has replaced in-ground sprinkler systems at some facilities with drip irrigation, which uses 20 to 50 percent less water, and also installed weather-monitoring irrigation controls. 

Sutter Health in Sacramento consolidated several laundry facilities into one LEED-certified plant, which uses high-efficiency equipment that saves 12 million gallons of water annually.

Read the article.