In part because of its mission, homeWORD's Julie Stiteler said gray water makes sense for the affordable housing nonprofit.

"We always want to design and develop more sustainably," said Stiteler, housing project manager. "That's an important part of our mission. And also in the city of Missoula, when we're removing water from an aquifer, which is not an unlimited resource, we want to do the best that we can do to conserve water. This will significantly reduce our use of potable water for irrigation and landscape."

The Equinox is piped for gray water but isn't using its system yet. Stiteler said homeWORD is about halfway done with the Equinox's sister project, the Solstice and Confluence, and the plan is for both buildings to supply gray water to the landscaping.

She said the plan to update regulations is one that will serve builders well: "It will be much easier. We will be able to know what the regulations are ahead of time and get those designs included in the construction contracts and have a better idea of how long it will take us to get the permit because they'll have a process set up and ready to go."

Reporter Keila Szpaller can be reached at @KeilaSzpaller, 523-5262, keila.szpaller@missoulian.com or on MissoulaRedTape.com.

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