Case 1, Option 2 baseline

Hi Ryan,

The Watersense tool is used to establish the baseline for irrigation in v4. But, if you're pursuing Option 2 for v2009 I would think that you'd need to stick with the theoretical calculation on the v2009 LEED form. Are you interested in using the Watersense tool because the outcome is more favorable or easier to use?

I believe you're allowed to opt in to the v4 requirements for any credit you'd like to.

USGBC has actually specified which v4 credits can be pursued by a v2009 project here: http://www.usgbc.org/articles/use-v4-credits-your-v2009-project

Hi we are in the process of acquiring Gold Cert for multi tenants - LEED EBOM 2009 and we just received the preliminary review from the USGB Council with pending points on WE as we are encountering serious concern on WEc3. Basically what is the best thing we can do not to lose the 5pts. We have new plants installed water meter, but the problem is that we have no comparison nor reference to proof that we efficiently save water compared to before we  have installed new native plants. 

What we did is that we come up on how much water we utilise before in the absence of water meter then compared the usage of water now that we have meter and new plants. But still the technical advise was to provide further documentation of baseline so as to compare. would it still be possible to get points should we be able to produce previous photos of types of plants we have to support our computation of water we use before compared to what we practice of watering now?

Hi Maria,

If I correctly understand your predicament, you installed an irrigation sub-meter as part of your project, but the irrigation was not metered prior to.  Is that correct?  If so, you can simply provide a brief narrative in the 'Special Circumstances' section that says something to the effect of, "The irrigation sub-meter was installed during the performance period as part of the EBOM certification process.  No previous irrigation meter existed.  As a result, we are able to provide ongoing metered utility data, but unable to provide historical utility data to accurately define the historical baseline.  For this reason, we have chosen the non-metered compliance path for this credit."  You can then just utilize the theoretical calculation to define your baseline.  

To define the baseline using the theoretical calculation, identify the landscape types that would be indicative of typical developments in the area, assign an area to each type, and select the average values for ks, kd and kmc for each.  Additionally, you can assign 'sprinkler' as the irrigation type for all landscape types in the baseline theoretical calculation.  Don't overthink the baseline theoretical calculation - it's easy to do...  Keep it simple.  As an example, in my locality, the typical development is generally comprised of turf, mixed vegetation and trees.  I take the the total irrigated area, and assign the following as the area for the baseline: turf (65%), mixed vegetation (20%), trees (15%).  You'll need to select the vegetation type(s) typical of the project's region, and adjust the percentages as needed, but you get the idea.  I repeat my previous statement - don't overthink the baseline theoretical calculation; keep it simple.

thank you so much this is  big help to us and my LEED Team for EBOM, this enlighten us! cheers!

And yes, we have not installed meter before, just recently to comply with the credits and have native plants in place. thank you for the advise - Maria

You're very welcome Maria.  I'm glad this was helpful to you and your team.  Good luck!