BD+C’s Green Buildings and Water Performance Report

This report, released during Greenbuild 2009, is the seventh in an annual series created by Building Design + Construction Magazine looking at impacts in the green buildings market. This report explores how water use and water conservation pose daunting challenges to building owners and the environment.

Here are the principal findings of the water performance white paper:

1. Virtually every region of the U.S. and parts of most states likely will experience water shortages in the next 10 years. Some are already feeling the effects of water scarcity.

2. More water is consumed outside buildings and homes — for landscape irrigation and cooling towers — than is used inside for toilets, faucets, showers, and the like.

3. Somewhere between 15% and 20% of the nation’s water never makes it from the filtration plant to the property line, thanks to our decaying infrastructure.

4. Manufacturers have significantly improved the efficiency of plumbing, irrigation, and water reuse technologies in recent years, but long-term conservation also depends heavily on how people use these products.

5. There may be limits to water efficiency. In some cases, saving water can lead to “unintended consequences,” such as pipeline drainage problems, health and safety concerns, and negative impacts on the environment.

6. Improvements in water performance can have a bonus: reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

7. The reuse of water may be “the next big thing” in water conservation, efficiency, and performance.

But in the course of the detailed look at how the country’s buildings use, and waste, water, the authors lay out a 21-point action plan for how to maximize water efficiency in public, private and residential buildings. Among the guidelines on offer in the report:

What Building Teams Can Do:

Design buildings to reduce cooling load;
Design water and drain lines for optimal performance;
Get the landscape architect involved early in the job.

What Building Owners Can Do:

Engage in water management planning;
Conduct water audits.

Download the full report from BDCNetwork.com [PDF].