No more pressure washing with water only

Wow, I'd like to say I'm really surprised by this review comment, but I guess the divide between USGBC/GBCI and actual market practice is just as big as I thought it was. I'd be interested to see if you have any luck appealing this ruling; maybe it was an inexperienced reviewer who went rogue or something. If this is truly the standard that GBCI will be setting for all future EBOM reviews, they're effectively eliminating SSc2 as an achievable credit for pretty much every commercial building in North America, if not the world. I understand that potable water is a scarce resource, but there are a lot of other components required to earn SSc2 that result in some great environmental benefits; it would be a shame if GBCI pinned all of those other benefits onto the challenging task of cleaning a commercial building and site without chemicals OR water. Most owners and property managers want to keep their buildings looking clean for obvious reasons and if they have to just sit around and hope it rains really hard on a regular basis in order to earn this credit, they probably won't bother.

Nena, thanks for sharing this review comment. I asked for feedback from GBCI about the policy implications, and I got the following response. We are evaluating our sample documents and templates to see if this policy warrants any updates on our end. Any reactions to this?"When documenting performance for SSc2 Building Exterior and Hardscape Management Plan, the use of a pressure washer generally is evaluated in two plan elements; cleaning the building exterior and hardscape surfaces and the use of maintenance equipment.

"For the plan element cleaning the building exterior and hardscape surfaces, it is standard industry practice to clean the hardscape surfaces with water using a pressure washer or hose. Although using water to clean the hardscape surface may seem more beneficial than using a toxic cleaning chemical, using a pressure washer or hose outright does not use water efficiently and does not significantly reduce water waste. Per the requirements section of SSc2, it states the following: “The plan must employ best management practices that significantly reduce harmful chemical use, energy waste, water waste, air pollution, solid waste and/or chemical runoff (e.g., gasoline, oil, antifreeze, salts) compared with standard practices.” As such, in order for teams to consider the use of a pressure washer or hose for cleaning the hardscape surfaces as environmentally preferable, they will need to provide additional information describing how the sidewalks, pavement, and other hardscape on the grounds are cleaned using water demonstrating that environmentally preferable cleaning practices are used. Examples include, but are not limited to, sweeping debris prior to the use of the hose/pressure washer, ensuring no trash enters the storm drainage systems, and spraying in the direction of vegetation such that the excess water is used for irrigation."

We just got the same comment, though it appears that our project uses reclaimed water. Unfortunately, it looks like GBCI is engaging in unballoted increases in performance requirements, which is not allowed by the LEED Foundations Document, since this is not a "clarification" or an "administrative update".

It's not our favorite policy, we we appreciate the feedback shared by project teams. LEEDuser's template and guidance on power washing have been changed accordingly.

Does anyone have an update on power washing and reclaimed water? We are starting with reclaimed water and then reclaiming 50% of the water used. 25% is absorbed through the porous Lithocrete surface and about 20% escapes the site to the storm drain system. 5 % evaporates. Have people stopped getting this credit?

I'd include that information in your performance narrative since those are best practices for efficient water use. And as Tristan notes in his post above, GBCI wants teams to describe "how the sidewalks, pavement, and other hardscape on the grounds are cleaned using water demonstrating that environmentally preferable cleaning practices are used. Examples include, but are not limited to, sweeping debris prior to the use of the hose/pressure washer, ensuring no trash enters the storm drainage systems, and spraying in the direction of vegetation such that the excess water is used for irrigation." If you can implement some (or all) of those examples, you should be fine. Just remember to include it in your performance narrative too.