In April, USGB announced it had updated the LEED ratings system for new construction and major renovation. This is exciting for ozone since it is a natural complement to UV and filtration for treating rain and grey water for reuse.
Some of elements of the new scoring system include:
1. Total water efficiency points have increased to 10.
2. The Water Efficiency category has been expanded to include water use reduction, efficient landscape irrigation, and innovative wastewater technologies.
3. The points available for indoor water efficiency have increased from three points to 12.
4. The Indoor Water Efficiency credit now includes a prerequisite mandating that all LEED projects hit a 20% water savings mark (as compared to a standard baseline).
5. Water use reductions are now calculated based on the implementation of “ strategies that in aggregate use 20% less water than the water use baseline calculated for the building (not including irrigation).”
6. Irrigation use reductions “must be attributed to any combination of the following items: plant species, density and micro climate factor, irrigation efficiency, use of captured rainwater, use of recycled wastewater, use of water treated and conveyed by a public agency specifically for non potable uses.
Giving more value to reusing water ina building encourages the use of advanced water treatment technologies such as ozone.