Water independence is oftentimes considered one of the most stringent goals of the Living Building Challenge. Achieving Net Zero Water in a residential building may be considered extremely difficult, or somewhat impossible, especially with conflicting laws and regulations in different states. I know that this is quite a challenge, especially for a student-level project. In an attempt to thoroughly cover all aspects of this challenge, I hope to lay out a plan to accomplish this project.
In Portland, OR, a group of professionals have banded together to work on a Net Zero Water project, the Pearl Family Development. Although still conceptual, this project is well on its way to realization. A non-profit organization called Central City Concern (CCC) provides affordable housing to low-class families in Oregon. The CCC noticed rising costs of energy and water utility bills, and they set out to reduce such expenses. They joined forces with SERA Architects, Interface Engineering, and Gerding Edlen Development to achieve net-zero water in the upcoming Pearl Family Development project.
This team of organizations is trying to achieve this goal for their project, of course, but they are also selflessly transparent with the information they garner about making changes and getting this system in place. A lot of the research I’ve collected so far was informed from this team of people, as they are far ahead in achieving Net Zero Water. Since this group’s coming together, enough research was gathered to make proposals to Oregon’s governmental bodies to get regulations and laws changed, paving the way for water independence. Oregon residential and commercial buildings are now allowed to use rainwater for irrigation, toilet flushing, and clothing washing, and treated greywater is allowed to be used for flushing of toilets and urinals.
Portland is a great start, but what about the rest of the United States? What about the rest of the world? I live in Philadelphia, and I’d love to see Net Zero Water in Pennsylvania. What will it take to get PA laws changed? The Central City Concern, SERA Architects, Interface Engineering, and Gerding Edlen Development have drafted and released a “water roadmap” that explicitly lays out where each regulation or mandate comes into contact with a Net Zero Water system. This is a huge help, and they are providing a great service to other people who want to do projects similar to theirs in different states.
Source: Achieving Water Independence In Buildings via International Living Building Institute
