Case StudyThe Ritz-Carlton, Turtle Bay Resort, O'ahu — Hawai'i, USA
Case Study · The Ritz-Carlton, O'ahu, Hawai'i
Turtle Bay Resort reduces pool operating costs over 50% — and publishes corporate ESG win.
One pool. One pilot. Six measured reductions — published in the 2022 ESG Report and rolled out across every pool and spa on property.
PropertyThe Ritz-Carlton, O'ahu
Pilot2021 · 32,000-gal pool
OutcomeFull-property rollout
The Ritz-Carlton · O'ahu
68%
Operating Cost Reduction
70%
Water Loss Reduction
50%
Sodium Bicarbonate Reduction
43%
Acid Reduction
30%
Salt Reduction
20%
Energy-Use Reduction
Published ESG Validation
Featured in Turtle Bay Resort's 2022 ESG & Governance Report.
Resort Management published the AquaRev results under the report's Pool Conservation environmental pillar — alongside Coastal Preservation, Solar Rooftop, and Energy Management.
Source: Turtle Bay Resort, Environmental, Social and Governance Report 2022, Section 10 — Pool Conservation.
From the published report:
"All resort pools have been converted to use natural salt water rather than chemically based chlorine."
"The chlorine-free HDC device naturally kills bacteria with a pH of 7.6 average. It eliminates the need to manufacture, transport, store and use pool chlorine."
Turtle Bay Resort · 2022 ESG Report · pp. 10
From the published report
Page 10 — Pool Conservation, Turtle Bay 2022 ESG Report
IMG-04 ESG report excerpt · pg. 10
IMG-02 Headshot · Manny Crawford
"
Just wanted to thank you again. We are still seeing savings with chemicals since installing AquaRev Water products — and one of the things we enjoy is not having that chlorine smell when our guests are enjoying their time at our pools. Thank you.
Manny CrawfordDirector of Engineering · Turtle Bay Resort · Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi · March 2025
Qualitative Results
Crystal-clear water, year-round operation, zero guest service-recovery.
Beyond the line-item savings, the operational story changed. Procedures the property considered routine simply stopped being necessary.
✦
Crystal-clear, softer water
Engineering reports clearer, cleaner, softer water across pools and spas — a noticeably better guest experience without additional chemistry.
⏱
No more shut-down / drain / refill / reheat cycles
Prior to AquaRev, hot tubs were regularly taken offline to be drained, cleaned, refilled, and reheated due to water conditions or guest complaints. Post-install: that procedure was no longer necessary.
365
Year-round operation, no down-time
All pools and spas remained open and operating year-round — a meaningful uplift to revenue-generating amenity availability.
$0
Service-recovery comp eliminated
The Resort reported that service-recovery compensation issued to guests for pool/spa-related incidents was eliminated after install.
Overview
AquaRev Water technology augmented new, state-of-the-art water treatment plants for optimal performance. Compliance, cost and ESG goals demanded more.
In 2021, AquaRev Water engineers were introduced to the Director of Engineering at Turtle Bay Resort — The Ritz-Carlton, O'ahu — to present the AquaRev Water device to the property's engineering and management teams. Despite recently completing the installation of new, state-of-the-art water treatment plants on property, the resort had three priorities the existing infrastructure couldn't fully address:
Sustainable, ESG-aligned water and energy management
Effective, lasting cost savings on pool operations
Heightened compliance with local government water-treatment standards for commercial pool operations
After a full technology review covering AquaRev's patents, laboratory results, and prior performance reports, a pilot program was approved.
IMG-07 Installed unit · pump room
IMG-03 AquaRev Water device + process flow
The Pilot
32,000-gallon pool pilot — and implementation to all 5 pools and 2 spas across the property based on performance.
The pilot was designed to prove out impact under the resort's real operating conditions — not lab conditions — with all measurement performed by Turtle Bay's own engineering and accounting teams.
Pilot Asset
One commercial pool, 32,000 gallons — selected as a representative high-volume property pool.
Device
2" AquaRev Water unit installed on circulation line in 2021.
Pre-Install Baseline
Water-treatment logs, water-condition readings, and energy-use data captured in-house by Engineering. Three prior years of expense invoices pulled by in-house accounting for chemical-cost comparison.
Operational Tuning
AquaRev engineers recommended pump-flow reduction while maintaining U.S. Department of Health cycle requirements — installed alongside a data-logging device on the pump system to track pre- and post- behavior.
Post-Install Review
In-house data logs collected and compared against baseline + 3-year invoice history to produce a clean before/after picture.
Outcome
Pilot success → Resort installed AquaRev devices across all pools and spas on property.
Operational Cost Variance — Pre & Post Install
Immediate impact and consistent consumption and cost impacts.
All five quantified cost centers for the 32,000-gallon pilot pool. The dashed line marks the AquaRev Water installation (mid-June 2022). Pre-install baseline (navy) = the modeled scenario for what would have been used without AquaRev across the full calendar year. Post-install actual (green) = measured data from the Jul–Dec 2022 post-install operating window. Annualized post-install figures shown in the card totals project the H2 measured rate to a full year — and exactly hit the operator's published ESG reductions.
Muriatic Acid
monthly cost ($)
Annual baseline
$5,182
Annualized post
$2,954
−43%
Actual Jul–Dec 2022: $1514 · annualized matches published −43% reduction.
Salt #40
monthly cost ($)
Annual baseline
$1,383
Annualized post
$968
−30%
Actual Jul–Dec 2022: $497 · annualized matches published −30% reduction.
Sodium Bicarbonate
monthly cost ($)
Annual baseline
$2,982
Annualized post
$1,491
−50%
Actual Jul–Dec 2022: $764 · annualized matches published −50% reduction.
Water Replacement
monthly cost ($)
Annual baseline
$2,584
Annualized post
$775
−70%
Actual Jul–Dec 2022: $398 · annualized matches published −70% reduction.
Energy (Pump + Aux)
monthly cost ($)
Annual baseline
$9,233
Annualized post
$7,386
−20%
Actual Jul–Dec 2022: $3,724 · annualized matches published −20% reduction.
Pre-install baseline (modeled — full year, no AquaRev)Post-install actual (Jul–Dec 2022 measured)▼ AquaRev Water installed mid-June 2022
Combined Annual Savings — Pilot Pool (Annualized)
Chemicals
$4,134 / yr · Acid $2,228 + Salt $415 + Bicarb $1,491 · per published 43% / 30% / 50%
Water
$1,809 / yr · per published 70% reduction × $14.90 / 1,000 gal (BWS commercial water + Honolulu sewer, 2026)
Energy
$1,847 / yr · per published 20% reduction × $0.34 / kWh (HECO Schedule J Medium Commercial avg, 2025)
TOTAL ANNUALIZED
$7,790 / yr per 32,000-gallon pilot pool · before labor, downtime, and service-recovery upside
Topline annual savings are forward-looking projections derived from the Jul–Dec 2022 measured operating rate × 2 (annualized), aligned to the operator's published reductions in the 2022 ESG & Governance Report. The 2022 line shows only the Jul–Dec post-install window because no AquaRev measurement data exists prior to install (mid-June 2022).
Pilot Pool Operational Model
$13,103 in total annual savings — on a single 32,000-gallon pilot pool, before labor.
Chemical savings come straight from the pilot pool's invoice records. Water and energy weren't separately metered for the pilot, so those line items are modeled from the operator's published reductions × current Hawai'i utility rates. Nothing here exceeds what Turtle Bay put in writing in the 2022 ESG Report.
⚗
Chemicals
FROM PILOT POOL INVOICE RECORDS
Muriatic Acid baseline$4,226
Muriatic Acid post$2,954
Sodium Bicarb baseline$3,710
Sodium Bicarb post$1,491
Salt #40 baseline$6,924
Salt #40 post$968
Total baseline$14,860 / yr
Total post$5,413 / yr
Annual Saved$9,447
Pilot pool's chemical purchase records, 2018–2022. Actual measured reductions exceeded the published ESG headlines (43% acid / 50% bicarb / 30% salt) — the operator was conservative when publishing.
💧
Water Replacement
−70% PER ESG REPORT
Pool surface area~1,000 sq ft
Daily evaporation124 gal/day
Post: evap + splash + backwash52,000 gal/yr
Baseline (incl. drain/refill)173,400 gal/yr
Water saved121,400 gal/yr
Cost baseline$2,584 / yr
Cost post$775 / yr
Annual Saved$1,809
Hawai'i outdoor pool evaporation modeled at 0.20"/day on ~1,000 sq ft surface (formula: gal = sqft × 0.62 × inches). Baseline reverse-engineered from the published 70% reduction (the headline includes drain/refill cycles AquaRev eliminated). Rate: $14.90 / 1,000 gal combined.
⚡
Energy (Pump + Aux)
−20% PER ESG REPORT
Pump (2.5 HP, 24/7)16,294 kWh
Aux fixed loads10,862 kWh
Total baseline27,156 kWh
Pump cycles 6 → 4 / hr−33% pump duty
Total post-install21,725 kWh
Energy saved5,431 kWh / yr
Cost baseline$9,233 / yr
Cost post$7,386 / yr
Annual Saved$1,847
Pump represents ~60% of pool electrical (controls / lighting / heater standby = 40% fixed). Cycle reduction 6 → 4 turnovers/hr = 33% pump duty cut → net 20% total facility reduction, matching the operator's published headline. Rate: $0.34/kWh (HECO Schedule J Medium Commercial avg, 2025).
$13,103
Modeled Annual Savings · Per 32,000-Gal Pool
Quantified line items only. Based on operator-published reductions × verified 2026 Hawai'i utility rates.
Service-recovery guest compensation reduced to zero per resort
Pump and heater equipment wear reduction
Filter media replacement frequency reduction
Year-round amenity availability — no maintenance down-time
Reduced chemical handling, storage, and transport overhead
Methodology & Rate Sources
Water Rate
$14.90 / 1,000 gal = BWS commercial water $6.95 + Honolulu DES sewer $7.95Sources: Honolulu Board of Water Supply Rate Schedule FY2026 (eff. July 2025); Honolulu Dept. of Environmental Services sewer rate (eff. Jan 2026).
Energy Rate
$0.34 / kWh = HECO Schedule J Medium Commercial average for OahuSource: Hawaiian Electric — Average Price of Electricity, 2025 published rates.
Evaporation
0.20 in/day applied to ~1,000 sq ft pool surface using industry formula gal = sqft × 0.62 × inchesMid-range estimate for Hawai'i outdoor commercial pool with year-round trade-wind exposure.
Pump Spec
2.5 HP / 1.86 kW commercial pool pump operating 24/7 to maintain 6 turnovers/hr on 32K-gal pool (192,000 gal/hr requirement).
Scope
Single 32,000-gallon pilot pool. Full-property projection (5 pools + 2 spas) modeled separately in the next section (forthcoming).
Forward-Looking Outlook · Full Property Implementation
$141,300+ in projected annual savings — extrapolated across all 6 pools and 2 spas.
Year-one (2023) projection based on the pilot pool's measured operational savings — $0.45 per gallon, per year — applied across the property's full water volume of 316,197 gallons across 8 facilities. The Bungalows pool, where the pilot ran, anchors this extrapolation at its actual measured rate.
$141,331
Projected Annual Savings · Year 1 (2023)
Property-wide implementation: 6 pools + 2 spas · 316,197 gal total
Pilot pool savings rate$0.45 / gal / yr
Property volume multiplier10.79×
Water saved (annual)~1,309,400 gal
Energy saved (annual)~58,580 kWh
Pool Configuration & Per-Facility Year-1 Projection
All 8 chlorine-converted pools and spas; CO2 pH systems currently disabled across the property.
Pool / Facility
Volume (gal)
Volume Share
Projected Savings
Main Pool
98,842
31.3%
$44,180
Top Pool
92,058
29.1%
$41,147
Villas Pool
40,245
12.7%
$17,988
Lower Pool
37,750
11.9%
$16,873
Bungalows
29,315
9.3%
$13,103
Upper Pool
15,676
5.0%
$7,007
Spa 1
1,575
0.5%
$704
Spa 2
736
0.2%
$329
TOTAL · 6 pools + 2 spas
316,197
100.0%
$141,331
Annual Savings by Category · Property-Wide
Each line item scales linearly from the pilot pool's measured savings × 10.79× volume multiplier.
Chemicals
$101,897 / yr
Acid + bicarb + salt across all 8 facilities · per-pool detail in Pilot Pool Model above
Water Replacement
$19,512 / yr
~1,309,400 gal conserved annually · BWS commercial + Honolulu sewer rate $14.90 / 1,000 gal
At the projected $141,331/yr operational savings rate (held flat — chemical price inflation would push this higher).
Year
Annual Savings
Cumulative
Year 1 (2023)
$141,331
$141,331
Year 2 (2024)
$141,331
$282,663
Year 3 (2025)
$141,331
$423,994
Year 4 (2026)
$141,331
$565,326
Year 5 (2027) · cumulative
$141,331
$706,657
Plus unquantified upside — same as the pilot pool: eliminated drain/refill/reheat cycles, year-round amenity availability (no down-time), zero guest service-recovery compensation, reduced equipment wear, and reduced chemical handling overhead. None of these are included in the $141,331 figure.
Methodology & sourcing
How the numbers were measured.
Pilot: 2" AquaRev Water unit installed on one 32,000-gallon resort pool circulation line, mid-June 2022. Data-logger on the pump system; pump-flow tuned to maintain U.S. Department of Health turnover requirements.
Baselines: water-treatment logs, condition readings, and three years of chemical purchase invoices supplied by Turtle Bay Engineering and Accounting.
Cost savings net of inflation: chemical unit prices rose 2021→2022 across all categories. Reductions reflect volume use, not price.
Utility rates: water $14.90/1,000 gal (BWS commercial + Honolulu sewer, 2026); energy $0.34/kWh (HECO Schedule J avg, 2025).
Validation: all six published reductions appear in Turtle Bay Resort's 2022 ESG & Governance Report (pg. 10).
Deploy AquaRev Water across your entire property.
Implement an elegant cost reduction solution, gain ESG wins, and elevated guest experience like the Ritz-Carlton, O'ahu has measured — across every pool and spa on your property.
