SPU and the Saving Water Partnership provide businesses with a variety of financial incentives to reduce project cost for any cost-effective upgrade to water-efficient technology and equipment. Most completed projects also save energy and have financial paybacks of two years or less. Common rebated technologies include:

Air Conditioners and Refrigerators

If your company's air conditioners or refrigerators use water-cooled condensers, investigate air-cooled equipment for possible efficiencies.

Incentives of up to 50% of the cost of improving commercial refrigeration system components. Download the WSTP application (PDF) or contact Philip Paschke, Water Smart Technology Program Director, for more information.

Kitchen Equipment

Receive a $1,500 rebate to replace an inefficient food steamer with a new efficient steamer. The rebate, combined with utility savings, should reduce the payback period to two years or less. Read more  information (PDF) on food steamers and water efficiency.

Receive cash incentives for upgrading to high-efficiency dishwashers. Download the Kitchen Rebate application (PDF) to take advantage the incentives listed above.

Replace existing kitchen equipment with high efficiency Energy Star models and qualify for both water rebates (Seattle Public Utilities and Saving Water Partnership) and energy rebates from Puget Sound Energy.

Laundry Systems

Incentives include rebates of $500 per resource-efficient commercial coin-op machine and rebates of $50 - $100 per resource-efficient multifamily washing machine. Water reuse and ozone systems can qualify for rebates of up to 50%. Read more about the program (PDF, 915 kb).

Toilet and Urinal Incentives

Receive $100 toward the cost of each low-flow tank or flush valve fixture installed from the WaterSense list.

Spray Heads

Replace pre-rinse dishwashing spray heads with more efficient models. A single spray head can use well over $1,000 in water and energy each year. Installing a high efficiency spray head can cut this cost by 40% or more, while still getting dishes just as clean as before. Every minute you use an efficient head, you save over a gallon of water. Over the course of a year, this can translate into $200 to $900 of cost savings, depending on usage levels and utility rates.  If you already had an efficient spray head installed it should last up to five years. If you need to replace the head or nozzle, contact your local restaurant supply company or Fisher Manufacturing (based in California) at (800) 421-6162.

Automatic Irrigation Systems

Receive rebates to upgrade irrigation systems components with water saving devices such as controllers/clocks that automatically adjust watering schedules with real-time weather information, rain shut-off devices, and technologies that detect leaks and improve the distribution uniformity of sprinkler-heads. For sprinkler rebates and watering tips, please go to www.savingwater.org. For watering calculators and real-time weather information, please go to www.iwms.org.

Faucets

Install low-flow faucets in place of those that use 1 gallon or more per minute.