WATER EFFICIENCY

Goals of Water Efficiency Category:

1. Reducing Indoor Potable Water Consumption to Save Energy and Improve Environmental Well-Being
2. Reducing the quantity of water needed for buildings and landscaping
3. Reducing municipal water use
4. Reducing the need for treatment of waste water in treatment facilities
5. In Schools, Use Water-Efficient Processes as a Teaching Tool

Water reduction is typically achieved through:

 Using more efficient appliances, fixtures, fittings inside and electronic controls.
 Using water-wise landscaping outside
 Monitoring Water Consumption Performance
 Using nonpotable water sources; stormwater, graywater and water treatment and reuse of for toilet
flushing and custodial purposes.
 Using reclaimed water available through local municipalities.

There are 7 components of Water Efficiency category:

 Outdoor Water Use Reduction (prerequisite)
 Indoor Water Use Reduction (prerequisite)
 Building-Level Water Metering (prerequisite)
 Outdoor Water Use Reduction (credit)
 Indoor Water Use Reduction (credit)
 Cooling Tower Water Use (credit)
 Water Metering (credit)

Graywater: Gray water is water that can be used twice. It is defined by the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC)
as: untreated household wastewater that has not come in contact with toilet waste. This includes water from
showers, sinks, bathtubs, washbasins and clothes washers. Graywater comprises 50-80% of residential
wastewater. Like stormwater, graywater can be piped to storage tanks for later use.
Graywater can come from:
a) Bathtubs, showers, bathroom sinks
b) Washing machines and laundry tubs

Graywater does not include:

 Potable water (already treated water from municipal supplies or wells)
 Waste water from kitchen sinks
 Water from dishwashers
 Waste water from toilets and urinals (Blackwater)

Blackwater: toilet and urinal water, as well as water from kitchen sinks. Blackwater cannot be used for
irrigation and also does not have one standard definition.
Baseline versus design: All Water Efficiency credits compare a design case versus a baseline case (via the
Energy Policy Act of 1992) to calculate the amount of water conserved.

1-Outdoor Water Use Reduction: (Prerequisite & Credit)

As a Prerequisite must be completed in order to qualify any project for LEED certification.
• Reduce outdoor water use by providing landscaping that requires little or no irrigation.
• The use of native and drought-resistant plant species is encouraged.
• The project must use no irrigation (after two-year establishment period, where temporary irrigation systems
are acceptable) or use 30% less than a baseline model.
• Plant species and the use of drip irrigation systems and moisture sensors are used as strategies to meet this
goal.

As a Credit, it is worth 1-2 points.

• Provide no irrigation system (after a two-year establishment period) for 2 points, or
• Reduce the amount of water needed for irrigation by 50% or more over the baseline calculation.
• Strategies

Goals:-
 Conserve water for outdoor use, specifically for landscaping and irrigation.
 Limit or eliminate the use of natural surface and subsurface waters (from lakes, rivers, and underground
aquifers) used for landscape irrigation.
 Water only when it is necessary.

Outdoor Water Efficiency Strategies:

There are a few specific strategies within the LEED rating system that aim to conserve water for outdoor use,
specifically for landscaping and irrigation.
 Use Native and Adaptive Plants
 Use Xeriscaping
 Use Efficient Irrigation systems
 Use Non-Potable Water
 Install sub-meters
 Design Landscape with Less Turf.

2- Indoor Water Use Reduction (Prerequisite & Credit)

As a prerequisite, you should:
• Provide fixtures and fittings that will reduce indoor water use by 20% over a baseline case.
• Water use for fixtures is determined by tables provided in the Reference Guide.
• All plumbing fixtures should be WaterSense labeled or similar.
• Calculations should include appliance and process water use.
As a credit is worth 1-6 points:
• Reduce the amount of water needed for indoor fixtures and fittings, similar to the prerequisite above.
• For each 5% increase in efficiency, from 25% to 50%, a point is awarded. 1 point for 25% efficiency, 2 for
30%, etc.
• The use of water saving fixtures, such as dual-flush toilets, low-flow urinals, and sensored faucets, are key to
earning these credits.

Reducing water use within a house or building is an easy way to earn LEED credits, and can be achieved with
little if any additional cost over standard plumbing fixtures. The facts are:
- Toilets account for 25% of daily water use in the U.S.
- One-half of all toilets in U.S. homes are older, less efficient models
- 1.6 billion gallons of water are wasted in the U.S. every year because of inefficient toilets
- One leaky faucet, leaking at a rate of 60 drips per minute, wastes over 2,000 gallons of water annually

Goals:-
The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct) established water conservation standards for water closets, shower
heads, faucets, and other uses to save the United States an estimated 6.5 billion gallons of water per day. Older
toilets use four to eight gallons of water per flush, while all new toilets must have a maximum flush volume of
1.6 GpF.
• Gallons per flush (gpf): A unit of measure used for the amount of water consumed by flush fixtures. The
baseline rate is 1.6 gpf for toilets, and 1.0 gpf for urinals.
• Gallons per minute (gpm): A unit of measure used for the amount of water consumed by flow fixtures
(faucets, showerheads, sprinklers)
LEED mandates a 20% reduction over the building baseline and awards 2, 3 and 4 points for further
reductions of 30%, 35% and 40%.
Calculation is based on occupant usage not number of fixtures.

Indoor Water Efficiency Strategies:

 Use Efficient Plumbing Fixtures
 Use non-potable water
 Install submeters

3- Building-Level Water Metering and Water Metering (Prerequisite & Credit)

As a Prerequisite:
 Provide a water meter to measure water use on a monthly and annual basis, either automatically or
manually
 Provide such information to the US Green Building Council for a period of five years after the building
is occupied or certified, whichever comes first.
As a Credit, Water Metering is worth 1 point by:
 Provide water sub-metering for additional systems in addition to the main building meter.
  At least two of the following systems must be monitored to earn 1 point: irrigation, indoor plumbing
fixtures and fittings, domestic hot water, boilers, reclaimed water, and other process water.

4- Cooling Tower Water Use (credit)

This credit has to do with the treatment of the makeup water for cooling towers or condensers.
Projects with this equipment must:
• Perform a water quality test and determine how many cycles the water can go through before exceeding limits
for compounds such as calcium carbonate, silicon dioxide, and total alkalinity as per the Reference Guide.
• Then, the equipment must be set to not exceed the number of cycles calculated (up to 10), and the project
earns 1 point.
• If the water can go through over 10 cycles or if it achieves the first credit and uses a minimum of 20% of
recycled non-potable water, another point can be earned.
Without proper oversight, cooling towers can use significant quantities of potable water. Bleed-off rates – the
rates that dissolved minerals and dirt are removed from the cooling tower - can sometimes be set at too frequent
intervals. When bleed-off occurs, additional water (called makeup water) must be put into the system to make
up for what was released. When makeup water is needed it should be replaced with non-potable water when
possible. Air-conditioning condensate, captured rainwater, or treated wastewater is good sources of non-potable
makeup water. With large amounts of water, especially when non-potable water is being used, there are risks of
bacteria growth. Legionella is one such bacterium that can lead to diseases in humans.
Chemically controlled cooling tower management must be water efficient and safe. An evaporative cooling
tower can conserve up to 20% of the water use of a standard cooling tower, depending on climate and
configuration.
Effective monitoring of cooling towers can create a more efficient system. Staff can monitor bleed-off rates,
makeup water use and heat loads to optimize the system.