Saving water at your business

• We can temporarily attach a flow recorder to your water meter. The recorder will track water use 24 hours a day for about seven days. Looking at water use at this level of detail can often help us identify water use issues and determine how much water a particular piece of equipment consumes. Knowing how much water you're using, and when you're using it, can be a good first step to reducing overall water use.
• We can put together a water use history for your business. Depending on the type of business, we can help determine if your water use is efficient compared to similar businesses. We also help determine if you are using more water than you need to for irrigation.

Apply for rebates and water saving devices

Upgrading old and in-efficiency water using equipment is one great way to save water at your business. We offer several rebates that may help your business:

Commercial ice machine rebate

We offer a rebate for replacing a water-cooled ice machine with an Energy Star-labeled air-cooled ice machine. An ice machine replacement is a great way to save water and money! The rebate pays 50 percent of the cost of the new eligible ice machine, up to a maximum of $3,000.

Apply for a commercial ice machine rebate today

Commercial toilet and urinal rebate

We offer a rebate of $50 per toilet or urinal for upgrading to high-efficiency WaterSense-labeled toilets and urinals. Multifamily and commercial accounts (such as businesses, restaurants, and schools) are eligible for up to 50 rebates per active City of Portland sewer, stormwater, water account.

Apply for a toilet replacement rebate today

Outdoor irrigation

We also offer rebates for the purchase of a WaterSense-labeled irrigation controller or multistream rotator nozzles. To apply, you must have an active City of Portland sewer, stormwater, water account.

Apply for an outdoor irrigation rebate today

Custom rebate for commercial improvement projects

We're currently accepting applications for nonresidential water efficiency improvement projects for small businesses and nonprofits. Incentive awards pay 50 percent of the approved costs of the project, up to a maximum of $5,000 per project. We're accepting applications from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, or until the funds run out.

For more information, email Jeff Sandberg or call 503-865-6414.

Free water conservation devices

Order FREE water conservation devices for your business or large property. Choose from a variety of simple-to-install water-saving devices.

• Faucet aerator: Faucet aerators screw onto your existing faucets and help the faucets use less water. We offer 0.5 gallon-per-minute (gpm) aerators for dedicated handwashing faucets and 1.5 gpm aerators for kitchen and utility faucets.
• Toilet leak detection dye tablets: These help you find out if you have a leak in your toilet. If you have a leak, it's most likely in your toilet.
• Toilet fill-cycle diverter: This small device can save half a gallon per flush. It works by equalizing the filling time of the toilet bowl and tank.
• Showerhead: Our high-efficiency showerheads use 1.5 gallons of water per minute.
• High-efficiency pre-rinse sprayer (limit one): People often use these sprayers in industrial or commercial kitchens. Our high-efficiency pre-rinse sprayer uses 1.0 gallon per minute. If you use your sprayer for about an hour each day, and you replace a sprayer that uses 1.6 gallons per minute with ours, you can save about 13,000 gallons of water each year, or about $300 in annual costs. Large kitchens may use a sprayer for four hours per day.
• Sample of dual-flush handle (limit one): This device is for commercial flush valves using 1.6 gallons per flush.
• Sample of water-saving 2.4 gallons per flush toilet diaphragm kit (limit one): These are for commercial flushometer style toilets using 3.5 gallons per flush or more.
• Sample of water-saving 0.5 gallon per flush urinal diaphragm kit (limit one): These are for urinals using 1.0 gallon per flush or more.

To request free water conservation devices, email the Water Efficiency team or call 503-823-4527.