Indoor Water Use Reduction

Required

Intent

To reduce indoor water consumption.

Requirements

Building Water Use

For the fixtures and fittings listed in Table 1, as applicable to the project scope, reduce aggregate water consumption by 20% from the baseline. Base calculations on the volumes and flow rates shown in Table 1. All newly installed toilets, urinals, private lavatory faucets, and shower heads that are eligible for labeling must be WaterSense labeled (or a local equivalent for projects outside the U.S.).Projects where fixtures or fixture fittings are not within the tenant spaces are exempt from this prerequisite.

Table 1. Baseline water consumption of fixtures and fittings

Commercial Fixtures, Fittings, and Appliances	Current Baseline (IP Units)	Current Baseline (SI units)
Water closets (toilets)*	1.6 gallons per flush (gpf)	6 liters per flush (lpf)
Urinal*	1.0 (gpf)	3.8 lpf
Public lavatory (restroom) faucet	0.5 gpm at 60 psi all others except private applications	1.9 lpm at 415 kPa, all others except private applications
Private lavatory faucet*	2.2 gpm at 60 psi	8.3 lpm at 415 kPa
Kitchen faucet (excluding faucets used exclusively for filling operations)	2.2 gpm at 60 psi	8.3 lpm at 415 kPa
Shower head*	2.5 gpm at 80 psi per shower stall	9.5 lpm at 550 kPa per shower stall
* WaterSense label available for this product type gpf = gallons per flush gpm = gallons per minute psi = pounds per square inch lpf = liters per flush lpm = liters per minute kPa = kilopascals

Appliance and process water use

Install appliances, equipment, and processes within the project scope that meet the requirements listed in the tables below .

Table 2. Standards for appliances 

Appliance	Requirement
Residential clothes washers	ENERGY STAR or performance equivalent
Commercial clothes washers	CEE Tier 3A
Residential dishwashers (standard and compact)	ENERGY STAR or performance equivalent
Prerinse spray valves	≤ 1.3 gpm (4.9 lpm)
Ice machine	ENERGY STAR or performance equivalent and use either air-cooled or closed-loop cooling, such as chilled or condenser water system

gpm = gallons per minute
lpm = liters per minute

Table 3. Standards for processes

Process	Requirement
Heat rejection and cooling	No once-through cooling with potable water for any equipment or appliances that reject heat
Cooling towers and evaporative condensers	Equip with: makeup water meters conductivity controllers and overflow alarms efficient drift eliminators that reduce drift to maximum of 0.002% of recirculated water volume for counterflow towers and 0.005% of recirculated water flow for cross-flow towers

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