If there’s one LEED credit I see getting bypassed with very little consideration on most projects, it would have to be Innovative Wastewater Technologies. This credit requires cutting blackwater (water used for sewage conveyance) by 50%, or by treating wastewater onsite. Maybe its just the title – what sort of crazy technology do we need for our wastewater? Things like Living Machines and onsite sewage treatment or pumping your building full of greywater often come to mind.
Its a shame though, because I can tell you how to earn these 2 points without spending a dime, piping in rainwater or treating one piece of poop onsite. Are you ready for it? All you need are two things, and you’re already putting them in your buildings – they just don’t happen to be the right ones.
Toilets and urinals, ladies and gentlemen, you can earn this credit with just toilets and urinals. The key is to use the right combination, of which there’s about one. If you use 1.0 GPF toilets (which tend to be the pressure-assist tank toilets, and waterless urinals – boom, 50% reduction in water use for a typical occupancy.
So next time someone says the project can’t pursue those points, tell them to chill out, read one of our Friday beer reviews, and suggest the 1.0 GPF toilet and 0.0 GPF urinal combo for an easy two points.
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