Sustainable Facilities Tool General Services Administration

Water used for landscaping and irrigation purposes accounts for close to 20% of a facility’s overall consumption and should be limited as much...

Limit the need for landscape irrigation by xeriscaping.

Implement water efficient irrigation equipment such as drip or micro irrigation and   advanced weather based controls for landscaping that...

Use alternate non-potable water sources such as gray water, rainwater, air handling unit condensate, cooling tower blow-down or discharge from other...

An aesthetically pleasing landscape is important in creating a pleasant environment for occupants and guests alike. The landscape architect is respo...

Does the landscaping minimize the need for irrigation? Are other sources of water used for irrigation such as: Rainwater? Graywater?

Greywater is the water stemming from processes such as showers, hand basins, or kitchen sinks but does not contain any human waste. Reusing greywate...

Harvesting systems capture alternate water sources, provide adequate treatment typically for non-potable applications to offset the consumption of p...

Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) for Building Operations and Maintenance (O+M) dedicates certification credits to reducing the b...

Install water meters. Use water efficient products. Reduce indoor potable water use by 20% compared to the specific building’s water use ...

Typical Federal Office Building Potable Water UseA typical Federal office building with 200 employees uses about 3,000 gallons of water in one day...

Commercial buildings have significant opportunities to conserve the quantity of water needed for daily operations through thoughtful design of the b...

Alternate water sources are not from freshwater such as surface or groundwater. Alternate water is typically collected and stored on-site and then ...