Why Should Developers Embrace Sustainable Water Management?

The impact of global warming is starting to manifest itself close to home. This February saw the hottest winter day ever in Britain, at a balmy 20C in Wales. Even as we basked in the sun, many of us realised this warm spell was an omen of many hot, dry summers to come. In the baking heat of the summer of 2018, rivers dried up from Wales to Hertfordshire. But it isn’t only the low rainfall associated with global warming that is causing water shortages. Our careless practices of water extraction are exacerbating the problem.

We can’t afford to proceed on our current track. The health of our rivers is essential to ensuring clean water for wildlife and human usage alike. From a developer’s perspective, waste water treatment and low water use systems are prime alternatives to drawing large volumes of clean water from fragile ecosystems.

Low Water Use Solutions

If we want to alleviate future water shortages, it stands to reason we should work to reduce our water use. This is not as unachievable as many people think. You can install taps and showers that use less water than conventional models. There is a huge range of solutions available that deserve much more widespread adoption. One example is a simple pressure restrictor. When you turn the tap on, it simply limits the flow of water, which is perfectly suited for routine tasks like washing your hands.

One of our preferred alternatives is a solution by hansgrohe. The technology works by wrapping water around an air bubble. The resulting stream, which is up to 60% air and 40% water, has the same feel as a stream of pure water. This is great for washbasins and showers, because when you are stood under one of these showers, you still get (and feel) very wet! And then there are the efficient toilets. There’s a huge variety out there. Composting loos suit a certain market but can be a tricky sell. We use vacuum systems for our clients, which use 0.4 litre to flush instead of 4, and look just like regular loos. Most people who have flown on a plane are familiar with them, so the barrier for adoption is very low.

Better Wastewater Treatment

Of course, water will remain a core human need which can never be eliminated. Therefore, we also need to consider what happens to the water we do use. Nowadays, we often see that perfectly good, drinkable water is used to flush loos and so on. But there are a lot of ways in which you can build up a bank of water to use for these purposes. For instance, you can collect rainwater off the roof and filter it down.

The systems we installed in the pavilions we designed for MDL Marinas takes grey water (water from kitchen sinks, showers, and baths) and runs it through a filtration system that gets finer and finer. Now, under EU regulations, this water can’t be used for drinking. Only licensed water boards can filter to this level. But we can refine the water until it is clean enough to go back out into the environment, or into a storage tank that can be used for toilet flushing. The filters are very easy to replace, there is no residual smell, and the whole system is simple to use. You can get filters as big as your site requires, whether they’re manual or fully automated systems.

Awareness around the environmental impact of the building sector is growing. Developers can take an active role in managing their reputation, demonstrating their sustainability credentials while crucially, benefitting the environment.