Rainwater Harvesting Systems, Inc.

How many points can I claim towards my LEED certification by collecting and reusing rainwater?

The U.S. Green Building Council, founded in 1998 and working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, has established the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ranking system.

LEED evaluates commercial buildings and provides a verifiable means of demonstrating that a building is “green”. Under the LEED certification program, there are four classification levels or ratings: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The levels are based on points awarded for the design, construction, and operation of a building. The Certified level requires a minimum of 26 points; Silver requires 33 points; Gold is 39 points; and Platinum requires 52 points out of the 69 total possible points. (HarvestH20)

A building with a rainwater harvesting system has the potential to garner up to seven LEED points as follows:

* 1 point for installing above-code measures that result in 20 percent water savings.
* 1 point for installing above-code measures that result in 30 percent water savings (typically waterless urinals or other unusual measures).
* 1 point (innovation credit) for installing above-code measures that result in 40 percent water savings (rainwater harvesting system or other water re-use).
* Up to 2 points for storm water reduction (storm water management practices).
* Up to 2 points for water-efficient irrigation
* 1 point for reducing the project’s sewage generation from use of potable water by 50% or more.