Septic Tank and Storm Drains

The storm drains and septic tanks are going in today and it's a bittersweet event, not simply because of what will eventually fill these tanks. The local government is not really up to speed on a what a green building entails and thus enforced building requirements that in reality are completely unnecessary for a green building. For example, this property will save 100,000 gallons of water per year once it is in operation but according to county requirements, an office space uses a certain amount of water and an apartment uses a certain amount of water and that is what you have to plan and provide for.

So for these storm drains, we are forced to install over two dozen of these massive concrete rings in order to capture the apparent deluge of water that we regularly receive out here. The problem is that that as a green building project, we have achieved a ground surface that is 100% permeable. The parking area is crushed pea stone and the rest of the property is native grasses. So all stormwater will naturally percolate into the soil and will never even reach these catch basins. 80% of them may never see a drop of water, EVER. The carbon emissions released by manufacturing, transporting, and installing these, not to mention the cost is frustrating to us since it goes against the green principles of this project and is only this way because local government has not caught up with the green building trend.