BY USING low-flow showerheads, watering its gardens with Newater instead of potable water, and monitoring its water use, the Regent Singapore hotel reduced its water consumption by 16 per cent.

Last month, it earned itself a Water Efficient Building certification from PUB.

Now, the national water agency wants other hotels to follow suit and consume 10 per cent less water, under its 10% Challenge scheme launched on Wednesday.

The scheme targets the non-domestic sector, which uses 650,000 cubic metres of water a day, or about 260 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

That amounts to about half of all water consumption here.

The 10% Challenge scheme targets hotels first, and will include schools, commercial and government buildings over the next two years.

Under the scheme, facilities and operations managers can attend a Water Efficiency Manager Course by PUB and the Singapore Polytechnic.

A guidebook on designing water-efficient buildings was also launched, as was a website,www.tenpercent.sec.org.sg, to help building managers assess their buildings' water use.

Mr Albert Teo, vice-president of the Singapore Hotel Association, said that reducing water consumption would not only help save the environment, but also reduce hotels' operating costs and increase their bottom line.

'I think it's in every general manager's and entrepreneur's nature to find ways to save,' he said.