In 2014, BLOOM worked with Norman Hardie Winery to demonstrate the benefits of a low-cost water monitoring approach. The following is an update on the impact water monitoring has had at the winery. Details regarding the demonstration project can be found on Water & Wine.

Katie Worobeck, Norman Hardie Winery

The water monitoring project implemented at the winery, guided by BLOOM, has been a tremendously helpful tool in understanding our resource use, as well as a strategic planning tool as the business grows. The interest in monitoring our water was motivated by several factors. First, we have two growing businesses within the same building: the winery and the restaurant. Concern is growing about stressing our well and water table, especially during the summer months when both of these businesses are in operation. Secondly, our wine production continues to increase each year; finding an efficient, sustainable water system is essential to the business going forward.

Implementing water monitoring has been readily embraced by the staff, however it was not without some challenges. We found some practical issues using the monitors, especially given the cold climate in which we operate. BLOOM was quick to address any problems we had and come up with solutions tailored to our operations. We found the in-line meters to be the best format for monitoring tap usage, and would highly recommend this option for industrial or outside use.

By metering our water usage we were able to find out exactly how much water we use at the winery.
Between May 2014 and September 2015 we used 1.1 Million litres of water of which about 26% was
used for wine making related activities. The rest was used for tasting bar and restaurant uses such as
dish washing and toilets.

Gaining exact water use numbers from this project has been extremely helpful in planning for the future. We were surprised that the restaurant used the majority of our water, and therefore have made plans to make our water use more efficient (i.e. high efficiency dishwashers, low-flow toilets etc.).

Understanding our exact water needs will also be instrumental as we address our current water system, whether it be augmenting our current well, drilling a new well, or even farther into the future if we choose to expand our current production premises. Having this data has enabled us to make informed decisions concerning our water system and given us a clear understanding of how to proceed in the future.