LEED Water Efficiency

Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head...by Dionnie Warwick

I love water.  As we learn early in our education water covers most of the globe; however, freshwater (the kind we drink) is a very small percentage of the total (about 3%, most of which is held as ice at the poles).  Buildings use an astonishing 12% or 47 Billion gallons per day.  Anything that can be done to reduce this amount is a savings.

LEED differentiates water as:

• Indoor Water - used for indoor uses such as cooking, cleaning, drinking, toilets, showers, etc...
• Outdoor Water - used to irigate landscaping.
• Process Water - generally only used in commercial or industrial buildings such as boilers, cooling towers, and other industrial processes.

LEED doesn't try to eliminate water use other than perhaps by asking that landscapes be water efficient so only rainwater is required to keep them alive.  LEED does try and get water efficiency to be a major component of the building.  This is done by using low flow fixtures inside the building, with landscaping outside the building, and by keeping things small to reduce process water requirements.  Also, LEED gives points to buildings that are designed to store rain and gray water (i.e. water already used in showers and kitchens) and reuse it to water landscaping or as process water.

The questions is - Can we Americans do it? Are we ready for these efficient fixtures and systems to reduce water consumption, waste, and reuse of gray water and rainwater?

Part of me really hopes so, but part of me really loves the fountains of Las Vegas...