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Feature from Environmental Building News
May 1, 2008

Alternative Water Sources:
Supply-Side Solutions for Green Buildings

This summary is a shortened, condensed version of the Full Article.

Executive Summary

Using water more efficiently is the place to begin in addressing potential water shortages, but sometimes it makes sense to look beyond conservation at alternative water sources. This article examines alternative water sources that can be used in and around green buildings, typically for nonpotable needs.

Graywater—untreated water from clothes washers, showers, bathtubs, and lavatory faucets—is used primarily for landscape irrigation (usually subsurface). Rainwater—water collected from a rooftop—can be collected through simple systems, such as rain barrels positioned beneath the eaves of a house, or more complex systems involving first-flush filtering and cisterns that hold thousands of gallons. Landscape-scale stormwater harvesting uses landscape elements, such as parking lots and natural swales, to direct rainwater into retention ponds for later use.

Air-conditioner condensate can be collected in commercial buildings in relatively humid climates. In buildings with large cooling loads, thousands of gallons of water can be cost-effectively collected each day. This condensate can be fed into the cooling tower directly, or stored and used for irrigation.

Wastewater (graywater and blackwater), once treated to a high level of purity, can be reused for nonpotable needs. Building-scale treated wastewater is reused onsite after a combination of biological treatment, microfiltration, and UV or chemical purification. Far more common is the use of municipal-scale treated wastewater, currently provided by 1,600 municipal sewage treatment plants in 25 states.

Finally, desalination is becoming common in some arid regions with access to seawater or brackish aquifers. An energy-intensive and expensive option, desalination is typically provided with municipal-scale systems and delivers potable water.

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