Re: LEED WE Credits 1 and 3 We are presently working on the landscape design for a LEED registered project. As part of the landscape, we are installing an outdoor fountain. The fountain system re-circulates its water, but will automatically back flush the filter at a rate of 75 GPM once or twice per week. The back flush uses potable water. Rather than direct this water into a waste line, we intend to pipe it into the 14,000-gallon rainwater harvest tank for use in our low volume drip irrigation system. Our calculations show that the amount of rainwater collected on the site will not provide adequate volume to establish the trees. Supplemental hand watering would be required for an establishment period of two to three years. This approach will eliminate the need for potable water for irrigation during establishment. At the end of this period, the trees will continue to benefit from the additional water during our annual dry season. Would the fountain back wash water described be considered \'recycled site water\' as outlined in WE Credit 1? Must the outdoor fountain back flush water be counted in calculations of building water use in credit 3?
NOTE: This LEED Interpretation ruling was overruled by subsequent NCv2.0/2.1 WEc3.1 and WEc3.1 LEED Interpretations which state that only fixtures regulated by EPAct of 1992 should be included in WEc3 calculations. Adding a water feature to a project does not address reducing the demand for irrigation water. You have stated that the landscape design needs supplemental watering beyond available rainfall at the project location. The scheme is using potable water for irrigation, but it first runs the water through the fountain for a design effect. The potable water used in the fountain system should be included in the Water Efficiency Credit 3.1 and 3.2 calculations. Applicable Internationally