Forum discussion
NC-v4 WEp1: Outdoor water use reduction
Hello everybody. In our project we do not have outdoor water use except for irrigation. Knowing that only the municipality recycled water is used for irrigation, does this secure 2 points of the credit (i.e. 100% outdoor water use reduction)?
Thank you
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Robyn Dowsey
OwnerEco-Build Strategies LLC
16 thumbs up
November 18, 2015 - 7:15 am
Hello Abdulrahman,
Though I'm sure one of the LEED User family will respond to you I wanted to provide my understanding and some thoughts on the matter. From your question I assume you are seeking certification under V3. If V3 then the my understanding is that the reclaimed water would meet the 2 point requirement without any modification to the design. That said before your team moves forward with that understanding it might be fun to take some queues from the new version of LEED v4. The new version of LEED helps team understand that just using reclaimed water really isn't helping our overall objectives to reduce impact. It asks them to stretch their muscles and really develop a low impact landscape design, using low water tolerant plantings, reduce turf areas, incorporate sheet flow and terrain features into their design so that they can reduce water even if it is reclaimed water is being used. By creating a basic palate that requires less water no matter what the water source is. Unfortunately even reclaimed water is a precious resource. Keep in mind most reclaimed water is developed with a carbon footprint that uses energy and other resources even if it isn't potable. For V4 the reclaimed water option would achieve the credits but not the new pre-requisite. If you haven't read or learned about the new version yet its worth looking into as it really caters to international certifications such as yourself.
Hope this is helpful
Abdulrahman Sherazy
LEED AP bd+c - Sr. ArchitectMidrar Development Management
21 thumbs up
November 22, 2015 - 1:40 am
Thank you Robyn. Sure your reply is helpful for me.
Actually we are seeking LEED V4 not 3, and it seems I posted my question here by mistake as it should be in the relevant credit not prerequisite.
And yes I have not quite learned what is new in LEED V4 and I have to do. Thanks for warming me up :)
Now to sum up what I understood:
- The credit is concerned with water reduction in general regardless whether it is potable or not.
- Using recycled water only in irrigation does not mean 100% reduction of water use.
- What contribute to the credit is water reduction resulted from using native plants and efficient irrigation system. This reduction to be calculated with comparison to the water use baseline.
Correct?
salil k
April 21, 2020 - 1:47 am
correct