There is a fully funded Recycled Water Distribution System that is due to start by mid this year until the third quarter of 2021. The location of this proposed treatment plant is just behind our project and looking at their tributaries, there are lines that branch along two of our main streets. Our project is now under construction and we just got the preliminary design review. Questions: Can I claim this on our WEc1, non-potable water use for irrigation? What documentation do I need to provide? Do I have to have purple pipes at this time or can the Owner commit to a future upgrade?
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MANNY IGLESIA
2 thumbs up
March 28, 2019 - 4:09 pm
Yes, you may.
Paula Melton
Editorial DirectorBuildingGreen, Inc.
LEEDuser Moderator
183 thumbs up
March 29, 2019 - 9:49 am
Hi, Manny! I notice that you answered your own question (but only one of the questions). Curious how you got the answer. Was it through GBCI directly?
MANNY IGLESIA
2 thumbs up
March 29, 2019 - 2:20 pm
Hi Paula,
I got impatient so I answered my own post to rattle the cage. Seriously, I emailed the same post to GBCI but unfortunately the recipient was not our actual Reviewer but he promised me to get it to the right person. But it seems he knows something that gave me hope and suggested that the Reviewer may want to see purple pipes. I emailed back and told him that the Owner might not want to commit to a Change Order unless 2 crucial LEED points are on the plate. Stay tuned...
Meghan Cole
Sustainability CoordinatorWRNS Studio
2 thumbs up
July 16, 2019 - 2:35 pm
Hi Manny, do you have an update?
We have a v2009 BD+C New Construction project on a college campus that has been designed and constructed with a purple pipe distribution system. However, the non-potable water will not be available as a public option (and therefore to the campus) through the municipality until the summer of 2020. We submitted WEc1: Option 2 for design review and included a letter from the client/college stating that they have signed a contract with the local water purveyor that will provide the non-potable water to the campus as soon as it becomes available to the public in 2020.
The reviewer did not accept this as compliance and suggested to "resubmit this credit for review after the non-potable water source has been connected and is being used for project irrigation".
Debra a. Lombard
Construction Administrator/ LEED APBywater Woodworks, Inc.
47 thumbs up
July 16, 2019 - 3:25 pm
did you try contacting leedcoach@usgbc.org ?
MANNY IGLESIA
2 thumbs up
July 16, 2019 - 3:45 pm
Hi Meghan,
Yes, I got a response from our Reviewer but at the moment we are not attempting the point for other reasons. See below a redacted version of our project info. It looks like your Reviewer is either new or has never done it before. What will help you is to find a similar CIR on this issue to avoid paying for an appeal. You can also email the Reviewer before you submit the final credit on-line.
Hope this helps,
Manny
Response on 4/19/2019
"Thank you for your follow up questions for project xxxxx. Please see responses to these questions below.
This will not be an appeal point if the credit is withdrawn during the design review and submitted during the construction phase. A letter from the supplier would also be acceptable documentation in lieu of a signed contract, confirming that the amount of reclaimed water claimed will be provided to the project within a 2 year period from project occupancy."
Response on 4/15/2019
Thank you for contacting GBCI regarding an inquiry about credit WEc1 for your project xxxxxx. Please see guidance below to address your question:
Four points are awarded for projects with no potable water use for irrigation. The LEED BD+C 2009 Rating System states that water treated and conveyed by a public agency specifically for nonpotable uses for irrigation meets the requirements for Option 2 (4 points). Within the credit form, Option 2: No Potable Water Use or Irrigation, Path 1 should be selected. The required documentation includes plumbing drawings or other documentation that illustrates the nonpotable water systems claimed in the calculations (ie. 100% reclaimed water from the purple pipes). Since the system is not yet installed at the project site, deferring this credit to the construction phase is an option.
Additionally, projects may count future infrastructure for reclaimed water systems in the applicable Water Efficiency credit calculations if:
· the future systems will be functional within 2 years of project occupancy,
· the project provides documentation, such as a signed contract, confirming that the reclaimed water will be provided to the project within a 2 year period from project occupancy, and
· the project provides confirmation that the reclaimed water supplier has agreed to supply the volume of treated wastewater or seawater claimed by the project.
Please see USGBC's Water Use Reduction Additional Guidance.