Clean and lean water use

• Installation of drip-feed irrigation system reduces water consumption by 5 100 m3 and saves ~€ 7 000 per year
• Reorganising tank cleaning saves € 800 and cuts yearly water consumption by 1 200 m3

A winery located in Southeast Europe significantly decreased its water consumption through a clever rethinking of its irrigation and cleaning processes.

Water for sanitary purposes and equipment washing came from the public water network. The winery also had its own water supply equipped with an electric pump and pressure water tank used for floor cleaning/washing and irrigating the garden. Wastewater from sanitary facilities and from equipment and floor cleaning was discharged into the public sewage system. The vineyards owned by the winery were surface or 'flood' irrigated using water taken from a public irrigation system, which led to vast amounts of lost water.

Key results

Seeing scope for improvement, the winery introduced a more economic drip-feed irrigation system leading to a 34 % reduction in water consumption. Another 8 % saving was achieved by reorganising the tank-cleaning and wastewater process; now the final rinsing water in one tank is reused for the first washing of another tank. Combine, the winery managed to cut its water use by 42 % with a total one-off investment of just € 21 800.