Sustainability

Water Use Reduction? Low Priority, Too Complex? Think Again!

On Demand

AIA Credits: 1.5 AIA LUs/HSW
HSW Credits: 1.5 AIA LUs/HSW

Speaker(s)

Suni Dillard, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Associate
HMFH Architects, Inc.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Gary Brock, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Associate
HMFH Architects, Inc.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Chris Chamberland, PE

Principal Civil Engineer
Berkshire Design Group
Northampton, MA
Charles Samiotes, PE

Principal and Project Director, Director of Marketing
Samiotes Consultants
Framingham, MA
Vesna Maneva, RLA

Senior Landscape Architect
Halvorson | Tighe & Bond Studio
Boston, Massachusetts

If our projects are designed with low-flow plumbing fixtures many architects feel that they have done all that they can and need to do to reduce water use. We tend to forget just what a critically limited resource water is and that reducing water use also reduces the energy use required to process and deliver water. Common approaches including low flow fixtures, minimizing irrigation areas and using drought resistant plants are easy and cost effective measures. There is much more that should be done but client perception, cost, and permitting and regulatory barriers often seem insurmountable. They are not. This expert panel will examine how significant water use reduction was achieved through the lens of completed projects that have overcome these very real barriers. Composting toilets, grey water and black water use and the goal of net-zero water in both public and privately funded projects will all be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

Overcome client biases and preconceived notions about water reducing approaches such as composting toilets and grey water systems.
Understand and put into use new approaches for water reduction in buildings and on sites.
Demonstrate knowledge of cost saving that can be achieved through water reduction measures.
Address permitting and regulatory issues that impede the installation of water reducing systems.