Step 2 of the Step-by-Step BD+C Reference guidance notes...."if the team is using reclaimed water for irrigation, 100% of this water must be submetered. The meter for reclaimed water may also be the same meter that is counted for irrigation, fxtures, or process
water. If reclaimed water is used in multiple applications in the project (e.g., for irrigation, flush fixtures, or process water), then all reclaimed water use must be metered; the team may report data from multiple submeters, as applicable."
Based on this, I am interpreting that a project that uses reclaimed water exclusively for landscape irrigation purposes can qualify for this credit as long as the reclaim/irrigation water consumption is adequately metered so that it encompasses >80% of the landscaped area within the LEED boundary.
In this case, no additional water subsystems would need to be metered to fulfill credit requirements?
Has anyone been successful / had this credit awarded to date using this approach?
Trista Brown
Project DirectorWSP USA
456 thumbs up
May 16, 2018 - 9:48 pm
Hi Leanne, I believe you're interpreting this correctly. I haven't heard of anyone using this approach before, so please let us know how it goes!
Greg Romanczyk
EXP18 thumbs up
December 19, 2018 - 10:59 am
Joanna - any luck with only using the reclaim meter in this instance?
Kristen Magnuson
Stok6 thumbs up
July 20, 2023 - 2:27 pm
I sent this question to GBCI and here is the response I receieved:
Yes, a rainwater harvesting system used for irrigation with a makeup water submeter would qualify as two subsystems (reclaimed water and irrigation).
The LEED v4 BD+C Reference Guide states, “Meter reclaimed water, regardless of rate. A reclaimed water system with a makeup water connection must also be metered so that the true reclaimed water component can be determined.”
Additionally, “The meter for reclaimed water may also be the same meter that is counted for irrigation, fixtures, or process water. If reclaimed water is used in multiple applications in the project (e.g., for irrigation, flush fixtures, or process water), then all reclaimed water use must be metered; the team may report data from multiple submeters, as applicable.”