Lincoln, Neb. – The city of Lincoln, Neb., has formally adopted the 2010 IAPMO Green Plumbing and Mechanical Code Supplement (GPMCS), enhancing the Nebraska capital’s protection under the Uniform Plumbing Code® (UPC) with additional provisions toward increased water conservation and energy efficiency.
The Lincoln City Council voted 7‐0 to amend the UPC by adopting the GPMCS as reference material.
“The Green Plumbing and Mechanical Supplement is a vital document to provide guidance for sustainability, not only locally and nationally, but worldwide,” said Lincoln Chief Plumbing Inspector Bob Siemsen.
The IAPMO GPMCS 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 GPMCS creates harmony by addressing such areas as alternate water sources, high‐efficiency plumbing products, conservation of hot water and training/education.
The GPMCS was developed as a tool to be used as an overlay to any plumbing code. It provides code officials with comprehensive and progressive enforceable green code provisions that help eliminate base line code barriers and provide the critical information needed to assure that the sustainable construction practices being incentivized by green rating programs such as USGBC’s LEED and Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes are safe and reliable.
With the addition of the GPMCS, Lincoln’s plumbing code will contain energy and water conservation measures, efficient hot water system design criteria and provisions addressing the safe design, installation and maintenance of alternate water source systems, including harvested rainwater, gray water and reclaimed water for commercial and residential buildings.
In December 2011, IAPMO’s Green Technical Committee (GTC) completed its work on an updated second edition of the GPMCS that will be released soon. New or revised provisions will include:
• Reduces the maximum flush volume for non‐residential from 1.6 gpf to 1.28 gpf.
• Reduces the maximum flow rate for kitchen faucets from 2.2 gpm to 1.8 gpm and for pre‐rinse spray valves from 1.6 gpm to 1.3 gpm
• Limits the use of hot water recirculation pumps to a building’s hours of operation to prevent energy waste
• Minimum water quality standards added for nonpotable and potable rainwater catchment systems
• Expands and clarifies provisions allowing gray water, black water, rainwater, storm water, dry weather runoff, swimming pool backwash, condensate, cooling tower blow down, foundation drainage, and commercial kitchen appliance water discharge to be captured, treated and reused for toilet and urinal flushing, irrigation and other approved uses
• All new requirements for landscape irrigation systems
For more information on IAPMO’s Green Supplement, direct your Web browser here.
Last modified: March 29, 2012