I would like to comply with the requirements of this credit by the use of captured rainwater for irrigation purposes. The question is if according to LEED the rainwater tank can be connected to the potable water system just in case there won't be any rain for a long period of time but it's still necessary to water plants?
I'm asking this question because in LEED C&S 2009 SS Cre 6.1 Stormwater design-Quantity Control it's written that "Reused stormwater and graywater systems must not be connected to other domestic or commercial potable water systems." I was wondering if this statement applies to WE Cre 1 Water Efficient Landscaping too.
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Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11477 thumbs up
June 22, 2011 - 8:45 am
Adam, let's separate the LEED and the plumbing code issues—I'm not exactly sure which you are asking about.From a code perspective, any possibility of untreated rainwater coming out of a potable water fixture will need to be avoided. So depending on what you mean by connecting the systems, that could be an issue. That is what the sentence you're quoting is about.From a LEED perspective, I don't see an obstacle to compliance, since the credit requirements are based on calculations, not precise system design. You should, however, ensure that your catchment tank is of an adequate size that you can capture enough water to irrigate according to what you promise in your documentation.
Adam Targowski
OwnerATsec
103 thumbs up
June 24, 2011 - 9:19 am
Aha then I understood the statement that I quoted in a wrong way. I thought that from a LEED perspective it is not allowed to have a rainwater tank connected to a potable water system in order to fill it in in case there are no rains for a long time. In this situation there would be a potable water used for filling the tank and for watering the plants. But this would happen only in extreme situations. Thank you for clarification.
Julie Hendricks
PresidentSage Building Revival
163 thumbs up
October 26, 2011 - 6:24 pm
Speaking to the question of whether LEED will accept a potable water connection to rainwater collection: A couple years ago we did a project that was collecting rainwater for reuse in an open pond, and we were denied this credit because there was a municipal water connection to the pond. This was despite the fact that our calculations showed the potable water would never be needed under typical rainfall conditions.