Include Fixtures for Mother's Room?

Correct, you are not required to include them. I have done both versions and it's been fine either way.

Emily,

I'm curious about the rationale for not including them - have you seen any guidance that indicates we're not required to account for their use? We've always included them, and assign a low percentage of users (5-10%).  

Rationale...who knows. I got fussed at for not including them once, though they acknowledged that they would be infrequently used, and was told a different time that they did not need to be included, similar to hand washing sinks in spa treatment rooms or back-of-house kitchens...they are considered process water.

I usually include them as a precaution and prefer to have them tell me otherwise. This is based on my own usage of them, though, and know that they're more for rinsing pump parts than just for hands. I do leave out the back-of-house sinks, though, since I've seen those come up consistently enough as process water that I leave them alone.

I found the comment where they fussed for them not being included:

"Please note for future projects that a Daily Usage Rate of zero is not acceptable for the Residential Kitchen Sink faucet in the Wellness room, even though minimal usage is expected by mothers. The Excluded Water-Using Equipment section in the LEED ID+C v4 Reference Guide identifies fixtures that may be excluded, such as process water, health-code regulated, and water used on materials intended for human consumption. The Wellness room faucet appears not to meet any of these criteria and serves as an infrequently used lavatory hand-washing faucet. Compliance is not affected by this issue."

So, they fussed, but didn't count it against us. It could also be argued that this water IS used on materials intended for human consumption...but I digress. If I can pinpoint another example, I'll post that, too. It may also be noted that our "Wellness Room" is intended for more than just nursing mothers; it can be used by anyone needing a secluded place to rest when ill, take meds, etc. We didn't argue the comment since it did not affect our compliance.

I would add a note in the form or anywhere you're providing a narrative, saying you are deliberately not including them. As a reviewer, you don't want to assume the project team intended to exclude a fixture, especially if the plan/schedule don't clearly label it "mother's room" or similar, so you might write a comment out of an abundance of caution. 

But in my experience the tiny number of uses per day stacked up against all the toilet flushes and restroom hand washes just doesn't budge the total percentage savings by any significant number. So I tend to exclude them to simplify the calculation and add a note saying "fixture XYZ is a mother's room sink and we have left it out of the calculator due to negligible daily usage." 

Thanks, Emily & Emily - those comments are helpful. On one project we got a reviewer clarification to change our assumptions for a mother's room sink faucet - can't remember if it was the baseline flow rate or the duration - but since it was such a tiny 'drop in the bucket" we were surprised the reviewer would raise the issue. That left me with the impression it was something other reviewers would scrutinize as well - so it's helpful to hear other approaches have been accepted. 

Of course we post at the same time with contradictory comments, haha. Sounds like that note on your review essentially says "technically this is incorrect, but we agree with you that it doesn't matter." I do think it's one of those things where some reviewers will be looking for issues to point out and to write a very comprehensive comment, while others won't bother mentioning that they noticed something that small. 

I would argue that a mother's room tap/sink would be most similar to a kitchen sink as there may be an element of food preparation and washing out of equipment.

What does everyone else think?

What I've seen in projects is that the fixture is similar to what you'd see in a break room - not like what you'd see in a restroom lav fixture.

In terms of use patterns, I would agree that from a nursing/feeding parent standpoint, I used it for both handwashing and equipment washing; you'd want the additional height and flow so that the equipment fits under the faucet.

Side note: Many of these 'mother's rooms' are used as Wellness Rooms, and are meant to accommodate other uses that would need to occur in private - sometimes just resting for a bit if someone doesn't feel well, sometimes for medicine/injections administering, etc.

@Rachael – this can be too straightforward, but: if you got poop of your kids on hands while you are changing dipers - it's better to wash it as fast as possible with good flow. Since while your kid can be laing without an eye on him - he can fall down from the place where he is laing, or grab smth and eat (what is not intended to) and so on.