Recently enacted water efficiency measures in the State of Georgia and the City of Chicago incorporate provisions from IAPMO’s revolutionary new guide for sustainable building practices, the Green Plumbing and Mechanical Code Supplement (GPMCS).
Georgia Senate Bill 370, a comprehensive water conservation law that includes the establishment of mandatory efficiency standards for water closets, faucets and urinals, uses language and related definitions — much of it verbatim — from the IAPMO Green Supplement for Section 8 of the bill, which revises Section 8-2-3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. The bill uses the Green Supplement’s definitions for “water closet” and “WaterSense®,” as well as the supplement’s provisions for urinals and a modified version of its requirements for toilets and faucets. The bill was signed into Georgia State law on March 18.
In addition, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) on Monday, March 22, released its 2010 Model Water Conservation Ordinance, a document that will be used as a resource by communities in the region employing conservation initiatives. The document’s preface directly acknowledges IAPMO’s contribution to its creation: “This ordinance is a result of extensive review of over 60 existing ordinances and research on water conservation measures,” the preface states. “Documents such as the Green Code Supplement of the International Association for (sic) Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense publications were important sources that informed the ordinance with up to date and state of the art material.”
Further acknowledged are IAPMO Director of Special Services Dave Viola and IAPMO partners Mary Ann Dickinson of the Alliance for Water Efficiency, Bill Erickson, IAPMO board member and chairman of the Green Technical Committee, of CJ Erickson Plumbing and James Majerowicz of UA Local 130 in Chicago.
“It’s incredibly satisfying and rewarding to see the Green Plumbing and Mechanical Code Supplement being utilized in this exact manner for which it was developed,” said Viola, who served as IAPMO staff liaison to the Green Technical Committee that created the code. “This document can be applied seamlessly to a multitude of municipal programs, standards and laws.”
The Green Supplement serves as a complement to any adopted plumbing and mechanical code, smoothly bridging the previously troublesome gap between existing codes and established green building programs. Where code language and green building concepts lack cohesion, the Green Supplement creates harmony with provisions regarding alternate water sources, high-efficiency products, energy conservation and training/education.
“It is evident many jurisdictions around the nation will look to IAPMO’s GPMCS because of the far reaching and advanced nature of the technology present is this document,” said Bob Siemsen, IAPMO president. “It is particularly gratifying to see these jurisdictions embrace the provisions contained within the GPMCS.”
For more information about the Green Supplement and/or IAPMO’s commitment to a sustainable environment, please direct your Web browser to http://www.iapmo.org/Pages/IAPMO_Green.aspx or contact Dave Viola at (708) 995-3004 or dave.viola@iapmo.org.
Last modified: March 30, 2010