Safeguarding Water And Water Efficiency

Sustainable

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Architecture

1- Sustainable Site
Planning

2- Safeguarding Water and

Water Efficiency

SUSTAINABLE
DESIGN

3- Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy

4- Conservation of
Materials and Resources
Innovation and Design
Process

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5- Indoor Environmental
Quality
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2- Safeguarding Water And Water Efficiency

(Hydrologic cycle)

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2- Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Introduction)

Scarcity and misuse of fresh water

pose a serious and growing threat to
sustainable development and
protection of the environment.
The need to improve the management
of water resources is becoming more
and more urgent as the global water
crisis affects more and more countries.
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2- Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Introduction)
A simple fact is that 97.5 per cent of the total
volume of water available on this planet is salty.
Of the remaining 2.5 per cent, two-thirds are
locked up in the ice caps as glaciers and is not
available for human use.
And of the remaining - one-third of the 2.5
percent, which is 0.81 percent - large quantities
are far beyond the reach of human settlements.
Of the remaining which is accessible, 80
percent comes in bursts, as heavy rains
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2- Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(DUBLIN PRINCIPLES )

Five hundred participants, including

government-designated experts from a
hundred countries and representatives
of eighty international,
intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations attended
the International Conference on Water
and the Environment (ICWE) in Dublin,
Ireland, on January 1992.
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2- Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(DUBLIN PRINCIPLES )

The experts saw the emerging global

water resources picture as critical.
The Conference Report sets out
recommendations for action at local,
national and international levels,
based on four guiding principles
known as DUBLIN PRINCIPLES

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2- Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(DUBLIN PRINCIPLES )

Principle No. 1 - Fresh water is a

finite and vulnerable resource,
essential to sustain life,
development and the environment
Principle No. 2 - Water development
and management should be based
on a participatory approach,
involving users, planners and
policy-makers at all levels
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2- Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(DUBLIN PRINCIPLES )

Principle No. 3 - Women play a

central part in the provision,
management and safeguarding of
water
Principle No. 4 - Water has an
economic value in all its competing
uses and should be recognized as
an economic good
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2- Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Saving Water in Urban Environments)
Currently, treated drinking water
is being used for purposes that do
not require this level of treatment
(e.g., watering lawns and flushing
toilets) and is often only used for
one purpose and then sent down a
drain to the sewer system.

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2- Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Saving Water in Urban Environments)
Instead of using treated drinking
water for watering lawns and
flushing toilets, options are
available for reusing wastewater
to meet these needs and, by so
doing, increasing the productivity
of the water that flows through
buildings

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2- Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Saving Water in Urban Environments)
There are significant barriers to
adopting water reuse as follows:
First, water reuse requires
significant investment in changes
(physical and regulatory) to the
water distribution and disposal
systems that are currently in use.
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2- Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Saving Water in Urban Environments)
Another significant barrier facing
water reuse is the lack of trust in
and familiarity with the concept on
the part of consumers. It will take
some time to successfully manage
the philosophical shift for recycled
water to become an acceptable
alternative to treated drinking
water for non-drinking uses.
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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Saving Water in Urban Environments)
Promoting the efficient use of rainwater
has the following main action points:
1. The integration of rainwater storage
facilities in buildings.
2. The stored rainwater is utilized for
flushing toilets, sprinkling gardens etc.
3. The development of building code to
make it compulsory for new buildings to
incorporate rooftop water harvesting
facilities.
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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Saving Water in Urban Environments)

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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Saving Water in Urban Environments)
4. The introduction of a new and more
efficient water management system;
Instead of combining storm water
and sewage in one system, rainwater
is collected locally (e.g. in private
cisterns) and allowed to infiltrate the
soil. The wastewater treatment plant
is thus no longer burdened with large
volumes of rainwater, and rainwater
is used to recharge groundwater.
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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Saving Water in Urban Environments)
5. Taxing households according to the
amount of storm water they discharge
into the municipal system. The tax is
calculated on the basis of the paved
area of the property. It provides an
incentive to the resident to store the
rainwater and to recharge groundwater
in order to avoid being taxed. The state
also benefits as it saves on its storm
water removal costs
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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Saving Water in Urban Environments)
Five soccer stadiums in
South Korea are catching
rain to keep the turf green.
One of them is the Inchon
Munhal Stadium, built to
host the 2002 World Cup. It
has a doughnut shaped roof
that acts as the catchment
area. A network of pipes
diverts rooftop runoff to an
underground tank, which
has the capacity to hold
600,000 liters of water
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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Saving Water in Urban Environments)
Two main effective policies in safeguarding
water and water efficiency; increasing
water use efficiency, and the sustainable
use of water supplies. This vision can be
achieved through a number of strategies
such as:
1. The provision of water saving devices (eg.
dual flush toilets, smart showerheads)
2. Carrying out maintenance programs (eg.
fixing leaks)
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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Saving Water in Urban Environments)
3. Delivering a water conservation
education program for residents
4. The establishment of encouragement
programs (eg. discounts for smart
showerheads, rebates on energy and
water efficient technology); and
5. The provision of advice on garden
irrigation and low water use garden
plants (eg. Drip irrigation, electronic
water timers and detection of weather
conditions, use of native vegetation)
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Safeguarding Water And Water Efficiency

Strategies

Minimizing the
Use of Domestic
Water

Water Quality

Water Reuse

Composting
toilets

Filtration devices

Rainwater use

Filtered tap water

for drinking

Green roofs

Water sampling

Graywater use

Automatic shut-off
controls on sinks,
toilets, and urinals

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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Plumbing and Water Use)

Sensors that automatically shut off faucets and flush toilets

improve hygiene, and save water.
Waterless urinals represent the most water-efficient urinal option.
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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Plumbing and Water Use)
Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT) Standards for Indoor Plumbing Fixtures
Fixture

EPACT
Requirement

Comments

Toilets

1.6 gallons per

flush (gpf)

Flush-valve toilets are typically used in commercial applications because they offer durability
and less maintenance compared to gravity tank toilet fixtures.
Devices sensing motion (ultrasound) and heat (infrared) and timers eliminate handling of
fixture controls, improve hygiene.

Urinals

1.0 gpf

Waterless urinals provide first-cost savings (e.g., eliminating the need to provide a water line
and flush valve) and less maintenance (e.g., leaks, valve repairs, water overflows, etc.) over
conventional urinals. Waterless urinals require the use and periodic replacement of a strainer
cartridge and sealant fluid.

Shower
heads

2.5 gallons per

minute (gpm)

Metering shower systems are typically used for high-use applications such as health clubs.

Faucets

2.5 gpm

Metering and self-closing faucets (faucets that automatically shut off after a certain period of
time or when the user moves away) provide water savings by preventing faucets from being
left on (or not completely shut off) and preventing overuse.
Microprocessor-controlled sensor (motion or infrared-sensing devices) valves can be custom
programmed to stay on for predefined lengths of time for water conserving needs.
Sensor-operated faucets improve hygiene, and save water. Sensor control devices are
usually battery-operated

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Safeguarding Water And

Water Efficiency (Strategies)
Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies,
Oberlin College
A WASTEWATER-PURIFICATION SYSTEM IN A GREENHOUSE

Collects and
treats all
wastewater from
the bathrooms
and kitchen.
The resulting
graywater then
returns to the
toilets and urinals
for reuse and may
eventually also be
used to
supplement onsite irrigation.

(Source: adapted from DOE, 2002)

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Safeguarding Water And

Water Efficiency (Strategies)

Adam Joseph Lewis

Center for
Environmental Studies,
Oberlin College
A WASTEWATERPURIFICATION SYSTEM IN
A GREENHOUSE
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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
(Strategies)
Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Philip Merrill
Environmental Center, Annapolis, Maryland
CISTERNS COLLECT RAINWATER FROM THE
ROOF- LOW-WATER-USE FIXTURES
The composting mister
uses 1 gallon of water per
day for the entire system

Closed system
geothermal lines

29/04/15 adapted from DOE, 2002)

(Source:

Cisterns
collect rainwater
Bathrooms use
filtered
rainwater
Composting
toilets
90% reduction
of the drinkable
water
Closed system
geothermal
pipes (const.54)
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Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Philip Merrill Environmental Center,

Annapolis, Maryland
CISTERNS COLLECT RAINWATER FROM THE ROOF- LOW-WATERUSE FIXTURES

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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Philip Merrill Environmental Center,
Annapolis, Maryland

The following safeguarding water and

water efficiency strategies are used:
1. Cisterns collect rainwater from the
roof, sending the water to be
treated and used for non-drinking
functions, including hand-washing,
fire control and mechanical
systems.
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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Philip Merrill Environmental Center,
Annapolis, Maryland

2. Low-water-use Fixtures: automatic faucet

controls for lavatories, and composting
toilets which are flushless toilets, these
composting toilets use hardly any water
(the composting mister uses 1 gallon of
water per day for the entire system).
They also reduce the load on sewage
treatment plants.
3. CBF recycles the compost as fertilizer for
the native landscaping on site.
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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Philip Merrill Environmental Center,
Annapolis, Maryland

4. The shed roof, covered in galvanized

metal, allows for a single rain
gutter, which drains the water
through filters and into cisterns.
5. A sand filter treats the rainwater
and CBF employees use it for
washing their gear and hands and
for mop sinks, laundry, irrigation,
and fire suppression.
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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Philip Merrill Environmental Center,
Annapolis, Maryland

6. The centre uses a bioretention filter

to treat oil and other pollutants in
runoff from the parking area. Parking
is underneath the building, and a
relatively small area designed to
meet occupancy and covered by a
permeable surface is used for outside
parking. Storm water passes through
a bioretention storm water treatment
system in the form of manmade
wetlands to filter water and treat oils.
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Safeguarding Water And Water Efficiency

(Rainwater harvesting systems)
Rainwater harvesting
systems collect
rainwater runoff from a
building roof and store
the water in a cistern
(water storage tank).
A pump transfers water
from the cistern to a
pressure tank to be
used by evaporative
cooling systems, toilets,
landscape irrigation,
and other non-potable
water loads.
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Roof gutter
Filter
Air Gap
Float switch
to potable
water valve

Water
storage
tank

Potable
water
supply

Pressure
switch

Overflow
drain to
storm water
system

To fire
suppression
system
Pres
s
Tank

To nonpotable
uses
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Safeguarding Water And Water

Efficiency
Phillip Merrill Environmental Center
LEED Version 1 Certification Level: PLATINUM

Safeguarding Water Score

Point

Prereq 1 Water Conservation

Prereq 2 Elimination of Lead

Credit 1 Water Conserving Fixtures

Credit 2 Water Recovery System

Credit 3 Water Conserving Cooling Towers

Credit 4 Water Efficient Landscaping

Credit 5 Surface Runoff Filtration

Credit 6 Surface Runoff Reduction

1
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Possible

Bonus

Bonus Credit 1 - Biological Waste Treatment

Bonus

Bonus Credit 2 - Measurement

and Verification
(Source: adapted from LEED,

2000)

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