Concerns over water shortages, notably in the South East and especially over forthcoming projects in the Thames Gateway are increasingly being cited as barriers to further urban development. It is projected that by 2080, some long term climate projections forecast a halving in summer rainfall, only partially offset by a 30% increase in winter in the South East. Already, extreme weather causing massive problems with water supply during the 2004-6 drought, and subsequent serious flooding causing £3bn during summer 2007 have emerged as major political issues with implications for construction.
2030 vision
As a consequence, Defra has launched a new long term water management strategy and vision for England (1) looking ahead to 2030, covering rainfall and drainage through to discharge and treatment. The document sets itself a tough challenge; to reduce pressure on resources and environmental impact while aiming to overcome barriers to achieving ambitious Government housing targets of 3m new homes by 2020 (2). Technical guidance will follow by October, 2008.
Even so, the Future Water strategy needs to be seen in the context of a wide range of other guidelines, statements, existing or proposed legislation which now impact on future water efficiency and flooding policy, much of it with strong implications for sustainable building practice, including the Climate Change Bill (see Table 1).
Key aims of the strategy include reducing water usage per person to 120 litres/day by 2030 from 150 today, “through a combination of efficient technology, metering and tariffs”, an independent review into water charging, with mandatory metering in water stressed areas. On new products and appliances, it says “we expect the demand for water efficient products from new housing to help drive the market and improve the efficiency of everyday water using products over time”, but adds that it intends to “review the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 later this year”, covering for example maximum water use of toilets, urinals, washing machines. The review will also consider “enforcement issues, advances in technical standards and water conservation, and the case for setting new performance standards for key water fittings”.
The strategy emphasises a dual focus on both whole-house standards to be integrated into revised building regulations for new build, the requirement to be in the form of a calculated whole building performance standard set at 125 litres per day (l/p/d), an almost 20% improvement, and on improving appliance and technology efficiency and information that benefits both new build and retrofit, following from the water efficiency consultation (3) by DCLG/Defra in 2007, and the 2007 Housing Green Paper. It says “minimum water efficiency standards for all new homes are now in prospect through changes to the Building Regulations”. Proposals are expected in both areas during 2008.
In a clear response to calls for leadership by example, DCLG adds that “in addition, the Code for Sustainable Homes (4)…. will be applied to new government-funded social housing”. DCLG confirms that “as of April 2007, all housing built on English Partnerships’ land and from April 2008 all social housing funded through the Housing Corporation has to be built to Code level 3, a performance standard of 105 l/p/d, representing current best practice in water efficiency without requiring water reuse or rainwater harvesting”.
In addition, all new housing will shortly be subject to mandatory CSH water efficiency rating, which specifies three minimum performance levels for water efficiency, a measure aimed at boosting incentives for voluntarily opting for higher performance development.
Rainwater harvesting will also be promoted in new developments to cut pressure on public supplies, though in the new 25 year management plans for water companies it is recognized that in some cases additional reservoir capacity may still be needed. Even so, Defra research says the Thames Gateway developments can achieve water neutrality.
Defra also notes that better product labelling is becoming available, and says it will be exploring how to work with whole supply chains to encourage the purchase of more water efficient products” through its market transformation programme (MTP). Mandatory water metering, smart metering and new charging regimes are now also very much on the cards, particularly in water-stressed areas, subject to a forthcoming independent review, a major part of which will be to ensure disadvantaged groups are not marginalized as a result.
A major water efficiency development benefiting customers of manufacturers, builders and designers is the launch of the sustainable Government Water Technology List (WTL).
DCLG points out that “businesses investing in WTL listed technologies can benefit from accelerated tax relief by claiming the Enhanced Capital Allowance on their capital investment”. Products on the list have to satisfy predefined water saving criteria.
Other initiatives facilitating water efficient building and existing use include the Bathroom Manufacturer`s Association voluntary labelling scheme launched last year, and from April 2008, the Energy Saving Trust`s new Green Homes Service, a one stop information service.
On existing buildings specifically, the strategy recognizes their dominance of housing stock means little will be achieved without upgrading their performance, but few specific policies have yet emerged. It says Defra, DCLG, the Environment Agency and others are “reviewing evidence to identify the most effective measures, overcome barriers to their adoption, and assess the costs and benefits of implementation programmes, as well as learning lessons from programmes to improve the energy efficiency of the existing housing stock”.
On commercial buildings, the policy is similarly unresolved, due it says to lack of robust data, emphasizing “pro-active industrial and commercial sectors leading by example through initiatives such as voluntary agreements”. However, the joint Defra/DCLG statement (5) says the Green Commercial Buildings Task Group “is to conduct research and analysis to see if a whole building performance standard could be used for non-domestic buildings, and possibly to establish higher water efficiency standards above that base”.
The extra mile
However, both the new strategy and PPS on Planning and Climate Change (6) make it clear that planning authorities are empowered to require higher than national standards in some cases, for example, through the Local Development Framework where water stress would otherwise obviate development (s.31). Clear justification must be given, however, and the strategy (s.24) states that “any local requirements should be specified in terms of the achievement of nationally described sustainable buildings standards”, based on a specific level of the Code for Sustainable Homes in the case of domestic buildings.
Section 42 of the PPS also requires that planning authorities should take account of future climate change by giving “priority to the use of sustainable drainage systems, paying attention to the potential contribution to be gained to water harvesting from impermeable surfaces and encourage layouts that accommodate waste water recycling”.
Indeed, the PPS suggests a presumption in favour of developments sensitive to water efficiency and future climate change, among other sustainability planning objectives, in that they “should expect expeditious and sympathetic handling of the planning application” (s.40).
Water and CO2
The strategy also points out that water wastage in supply, consumption and poor central heating systems have implications for greenhouse gas emissions, due to high energy consumption in both water purification and wastewater treatment. It says the water industry “emits under 1% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions, but there is a real risk that this will rise with water demand and more ambitious standards for water quality in the natural environment”.
As part of its response, the Government is therefore considering bringing the water companies within the scope of the mandatory Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme announced in the 2007 Energy White Paper, setting targets for industry to reduce its emissions. The strategy points out that “the water industry has made a commitment to a 20% target for renewable energy by 2020 and will research how it might better manage non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment”.
More significantly, the strategy identifies hot water use in homes, for things like washing, bathing and cooking, as “being responsible for 35 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year: over 5% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions”. Water efficiency measures “are therefore doubly beneficial, with water as well as greenhouse gas savings”.
Watertight policy?
On flooding, Defra had previously produced a comprehensive and holistic document on Making Space for Water (7) in 2005 based on Foresight research, reflected in Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and Flood Risk (8). This is meant to ensure flood risk from both rivers and coasts and surface water drainage is taken into account in all planning stages, discouraging inappropriate development where there is high flood risk, to allow development only with suitable protection and mitigation where large areas are at risk of flooding, oblige local authorities to take account of Government policy and Environment Agency advice on minimising flood risk, and provide opportunities to reduce existing flood risk to communities, for instance by protecting or re-creating functional flood plains and washlands providing both recreational and flood storage space.
However, EA advice and PPS25 have often not been rigorously adhered to, while recent severe flooding has now made more urgent and fundamental action inevitable.
New surface water management plans, possible removal of automatic connection of drainage from developments to public sewer, clarification of responsibilities for surface drainage locally and consideration of more constraints on construction of impermeable surfaces in gardens, among urgent interim recommendations of the December 2007 interim Pitt report into the 2007 floods (9), are among the key flood-related proposals in Future Water.
(1)Future Water: The Government’s water strategy for England, Defra, February 2008, Cm 7319, Improving surface water drainage: consultation to accompany proposals set out in the Government’s water strategy, Future Water; (2)Homes for the future: more affordable, more sustainable. DCLG, 2007; (3)Consultation on Water Efficiency in New Buildings, DCLG/Defra, December 2006; (4)Code for Sustainable Homes, Technical Guide, DCLG, October 2007; (5)Water Efficiency in New Buildings: A joint Defra and Communities and Local Government policy statement, July 2007; (6)Planning Policy Statement: Planning and Climate Change, Supplement to Planning Policy Statement 1, DCLG, Defra, Dec. 2007; (7)Making space for water: Taking forward a new Government strategy for flood and coastal erosion risk management in England, March 2005; (8)PPS 25: development and flood risk, Practice Guidance companion to PPS25 (“Development and Flood Risk”);(9)Learning Lessons from the 2007 floods review. Sir Michael Pitt’s interim report. Defra;(10)Improving the Flood Performance of New Buildings – Flood Resilient Construction, DCLG, 2007
www.defra.gov.uk/environment/water/strategy/pdf/future-water.pdf; www.defra.gov.uk/environ/fcd/policy/surfacewaterdrainage.htm; www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/thepittreview; www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/WaterEfficiencyNewBuildings; www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/code_for_sustainable_homes_techguide.pdf
Table 1: Water policies, initiatives and sustainable building
Key policies:
Code for Sustainable Homes, DCLG
PPS 25: Development and flood risk
Future Water strategy, Defra
Building Regulations: notably Part H, L (to be revised)
Water Efficiency in New Buildings, Defra
Planning Policy Statement: Planning and Climate Change, DCLG/Defra
Climate Change Bill
Making Space for Water programme, Defra
Homes for the Future: Housing green paper (Ch 7), DCLG
Initiatives:
Water Technology List (WTL), DCLG
Green Homes Service, Energy Saving Trust
Voluntary labelling scheme: Bathroom Manufacturer’s Association