Retail operations · Site guide
Water savings made simple
Seven things to watch for on every site walk — and exactly what to do when you spot one.
For: Site leaders, assistant leaders, and Team Members
Source: Ryan E. | Updated: July 27, 2026
Source: Ryan E. | Updated: July 27, 2026
Water is one of the few costs your team controls hour by hour. Every leak, overflow, and extra minute of firehose runs straight through site profit.
Here is the good news: almost every water problem is visible during a normal site walk. You just have to know what you are looking at.
The 60-second version
| Keep reclaim running. When reclaim goes down, speak up right away. | |
| Save the firehose for the pit, flushing cloth, and specific cleaning concerns. Air blowers handle the rest. | |
| Look at the floor. Water where it does not belong is money in the drain. | |
| Still dripping 15 minutes after a car? Report that arch the same day. | |
| Read the meter at open and close. Every single day. |
Why it matters
$0.35 – $1.00+
Water cost per car. That is the spread between our best sites and our most expensive ones.
50 gallons a minute
What Belt Flush uses when it runs on fresh water. About a bathtub every 90 seconds.
$0.50 a minute
Every minute the boosted fresh-water firehose is running.
Water runs about a penny to two cents a gallon — small, until it runs all day or all night. Aim for what our best sites achieve, not for average.
The 7 checks
1 | The firehose is the most expensive tool on site |
You'll see: someone pushing leaves, soap, or debris across the floor with the hose.
What it costs: $0.50 a minute Ten extra minutes a day adds up to thousands of dollars a year.
What to do:
- Air blowers for floor debris
- Bay clean gun for end-of-day cleaning
- Firehose for the pit, flushing cloth, and specific cleaning concerns only
2 | Belt Flush belongs on reclaim water |
You'll see: nothing obvious — and that is exactly the problem. When reclaim is down, off, or in bypass, Belt Flush switches to fresh water automatically to protect the pumps.
What it costs: 50 gallons a minute Every car adds belt run time, so this one gets expensive fast.
What to do:
- Treat reclaim downtime as urgent, never routine
- Confirm the reclaim system is running and out of bypass
- Tell your site leader the moment reclaim goes down
3 | Water on the floor is money in the drain |
You'll see: a trickle from an overflow hose, or a wet spot in the pod or chaseway.
Why it hides: RO and reject tank overflows drain out of sight. A tank can spill all day and leave almost no trace.
What to do:
- Walk the pod and chaseway during the day and after close
- Report any steady flow from an overflow hose
- Ask about swapping hidden hoses for clear hose, cut about a foot above the floor, so an overflow shows up right away
4 | Listen during nightly strainer cleaning |
You'll hear: fresh water running into the basket strainer when nothing should be flowing.
Why it happens: the reclaim prime solenoid sticks open and feeds a steady stream into the system. Even a small stream adds up over a month.
What to do: confirm the flow stops when it should. Report it if water keeps running — that solenoid needs repair or replacement.
5 | A drip 15 minutes later is a leak |
You'll see: a high-pressure arch still dripping long after the last vehicle went through.
Why it matters: a leaking check valve lets the elevated reject tank weep through the arch all day and all night. The tank refills through the Jobe valve, so the site pays twice.
What to do: check any high-pressure arch still dripping 10 to 15 minutes after a wash, and report it the same day.
6 | Too much water in the tunnel |
You'll see: the mid-tunnel rain bar heavy enough to wash out the view through a vehicle window.
Why it matters: that application is meant to be a light flush, not a full rinse. Some older sites have oversized injectors.
What to do: report it. The injector gets compared to current spec and swapped for the right size.
7 | Read the meter, open and close |
Every day:
- Record the meter reading at opening
- Record it again at closing
- Log both in the tracking spreadsheet and compare overnight usage
- Investigate a jump the same day
- Enter utility bills into the Manager App
Why it matters: the utility bill shows up weeks later. The meter shows up tomorrow.
Who handles what
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Team Member | Spot it, break the firehose habit, and report it right away |
| Site leader | Confirm reclaim status, log the issue, schedule the repair, own the daily meter log |
| Maintenance and support | Solenoids, check valves, injectors, tank setpoints, and rewire kits |
For site leaders: the technical follow-ups
Work these with your maintenance and support contacts.
- Install the available PurClean rewire kit to connect the reclaim system to the Tommy Controller.
- Configure the system so Belt Flush and pre-blaster solenoids stay closed when reclaim is unavailable.
- Inspect the regulator bypass whenever high-pressure wheel blaster pumps run on fresh water. An open bypass wastes about 8 gallons per minute.
- Set regulators fully closed or “pegged” where appropriate, and reduce VFD speed as needed to hold correct pressure.
- Close the upper Jobe fill valve on the reject tank when it is not needed.
- Confirm the Pure Finish (RO) tank level setpoint sits below the overflow point.
- Compare mid-tunnel rain bar injectors to current specification.
Questions? Reach out to your regional operations contact for help with reclaim troubleshooting, the PurClean rewire kit, or injector specifications.
Water walkthrough checklist
Run these checks on every site walk. The printable version, with a daily meter log, is attached to this article.
| Reclaim system running and out of bypass | |
| RO and reject tanks sitting below the overflow point | |
| Overflow hoses dry | |
| Firehose stowed, used only for a real job | |
| High-pressure arches dry 15 minutes after the last vehicle | |
| Prime solenoid closed and the basket strainer dry | |
| Mid-tunnel rain bar applying a light flush only | |
| Drains clear of unexplained water |
If you remember five things
- Reclaim stays running
- The firehose stays put unless there is a real job for it
- Overflows get seen, because the hose is visible
- Drips get fixed the same day
- The meter gets read at open and close
Small habits, every shift. That is how the best sites hold water cost near $0.35 per car.