Sustainability: Water is Life

Living in Georgia, we have first had experience with water as a precious natural resource. Extended droughts have led to “water wars” with neighboring states. There are encouraging signs of a new awareness to environmental concerns including climate change. It seems like we have to go through a crisis to rise to the occasion and really improve our standard operating procedures. This could also be said for the economic meltdown of 2008 and beyond. With the right team behind a client willing to step up to the plate, a range of decisions regarding water can make significant differences in a project’s impact on its environment over time. Projects like 1180 Peachtree and the proposed Metropolitan Center (Midtown Atlanta) use stored storm water from a properly sized retention vault for irrigation. Condensate from the buildings HVAC is also collected for re-use. Upgrades to irrigation controllers factor in micro-climatic conditions on site from soil moisture sensors and adjustments to account for plant evapotranspiration rates adjust irrigation application rates with input from local gauges.