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Credit language
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Requirements
OPTION 1
Use only captured rainwater, recycled wastewater, recycled graywater or water treated and conveyed by a public agency specifically for nonpotable uses for irrigation.OR
OPTION 2
Install landscaping that does not require permanent irrigation systems. Temporary irrigation systems used for plant establishment are allowed only if removed within a period not to exceed 18 months of installation.SITES-LEED Equivalency
This LEED credit (or a component of this credit) has been established as equivalent to a SITES v2 credit or component. For more information on using the equivalency as a substitution in your LEED or SITES project, see this article and guidance document.What does it cost?
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »Frequently asked questions
See all forum discussions about this credit »Addenda
The intent of this credit is to alter planting details to eliminate the use of potable water for landscape irrigation as much as possible. Project teams tend to interpret "landscape" as any vegetated space on the project site. However, some projects also include growing space for food in an urban agriculture or community garden setting. This is not "landscape" in the usual sense, and the normal water use reduction measures aren\'t appropriate when the land is being used productively. In LEED for Homes, an existing LEED Interpretation clarifies that growing space should be exempted entirely from the calculations for the Homes version of this credit (do not include in the numerator or denominator). See LI 2736. I request that this LI be extended to all LEED rating systems, since growing space is potentially a component of many project types.
Project teams may elect to exclude food gardens from landscape calculations on the rationale that normal water use reduction measures are not appropriate when the land is being used to produce food for human consumption. If a project team chooses to exclude a food garden from the landscape area, it should be excluded uniformly across the baseline and design calculations.
Can the EPA Watersense Water Budget Tool be used on 2009 projects? Can EBOM projects use the Option 2 theoretical calculation for Option 1? If so, what are the parameters?
Yes, the EPA Watersense Water Budget Tool can be used for v2009 BD+C and O+M projects. The thresholds in v2009 must still be documented; there is no v4 substitute. The v2009 controller efficiency criteria still holds (e.g. controller efficiency savings are limited to 30%).
EBOM Option 1: projects can use the theoretical calculation from Option 2 to establish the baseline for Option 1. The theoretical baseline case should be calculated using the month of July or the month with the highest irrigation demand and must be compared to metered water use data from that same month. Average values must be used for plant species, density and microclimate factor.
EBOM Option 2: percentage savings can be documented using the Water Budget Tool in place of the theoretical calculations.
EBOM Option 3: the Water Budget Tool can be considered an independent irrigation performance tool. Compare the project's metered water use against the baseline, not the landscape water allowance (LWA).
The intent of this credit is to alter planting details to eliminate the use of potable water for landscape irrigation as much as possible. Project teams tend to interpret "landscape" as any vegetated space on the project site. However, some projects also include growing space for food in an urban agriculture or community garden setting. This is not "landscape" in the usual sense, and the normal water use reduction measures aren\'t appropriate when the land is being used productively. In LEED for Homes, an existing LEED Interpretation clarifies that growing space should be exempted entirely from the calculations for the Homes version of this credit (do not include in the numerator or denominator). See LI 2736. I request that this LI be extended to all LEED rating systems, since growing space is potentially a component of many project types.
Project teams may elect to exclude food gardens from landscape calculations on the rationale that normal water use reduction measures are not appropriate when the land is being used to produce food for human consumption. If a project team chooses to exclude a food garden from the landscape area, it should be excluded uniformly across the baseline and design calculations.
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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
OPTION 1
Use only captured rainwater, recycled wastewater, recycled graywater or water treated and conveyed by a public agency specifically for nonpotable uses for irrigation.OR
