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PAGE 43 CLIMATE CHANGE
The discharging of foul water and surface waters is also included in the Building Regulations, which include requirements and guidance to minimise environmental impacts of off-mains treatment. They also support the water efficiency elements in the Code for Sustainable Homes by placing requirements and giving guidance on rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse. Some Parts of the Building Regulations are in the process of revision and so will take into account the developing impacts of climate change. Linked to Building Regulations and drainage of foul water from properties is the recently announced legislative intention to provide for the adoption of private sewers by the water utilities. It is estimated that 50 per cent of properties are connected to a private sewer and this legislation will ease the burden on home owners and help with addressing sewer flooding problems for a small extra charge to consumers.
The government policies on energy are being subsumed into its overarching policies on carbon, the importance of which are apparent in an extract from a recent speech to the ‘Low carbon Industrial Summit’ by Lord Mandelson: ‘We are on the edge of a low carbon industrial revolution. Everything is going to change.’ This policy will have many facets including the more efficient generation and use of energy and will significantly impact all industries.
The water sector is a high energy user but also has the potential to contribute to renewable energy production and energy efficiencies both on large and small scales, the latter being relevant to the increased use of low level energy to drive low energy using monitoring and controlling systems. Anaerobic digestion will be the major contributor to renewable energy generation as was clearly stated in the Defra February announcement ‘Anaerobic Digestion – shared goals’. Included in this announcement is a water industry commitment to ensure that a fifth of the energy it uses is derived from renewable
sources by 2020, an indication of increased opportunities in the recovery of the energy in sewage sludge. However sewage sludge is not the only feedstock for AD as there are many other suitable organic wastes which can be digested alone or in combination to produce energy.
The Code for Sustainable Homes and Building Regulations also address energy efficiency at the smaller scale building level, both domestic and commercial, and the relevant parts are being revised to require a more efficient approach to energy utilisation. Of significance to the water industry supply chain are the revisions to the regulations and guidance on water-using equipment and water treatment to maintain efficiency of energy transfer in heating systems. Also at the smaller scale, the use of water as the transport vehicle for extracting heat from the ground is another distinctive source of renewable energy which is being developed.
By the time this handbook is published, the topic of ‘Improving the energy efficiency of the water industry’ will have been addressed at the British Water Conference on 25 March 2009. This will have reviewed the challenge, highlighted the potential opportunities and given case study examples demonstrating some improvements in energy efficiencies currently available via developments originating in the supply chain.
It is all very well to talk of the many potential opportunities being generated by new legislation but funding them in the short term will be challenging. This will in itself create a need for innovative thinking and management. The Technology Strategy Board is charged with assisting and driving innovation and its application, the environmental and financial regulators are currently involved with developing longer term plans to assist with funding and rewarding investment and uptake of innovation. Industrial and commercial applications involving water efficiency and reuse projects may of course benefit from the enhanced capital allowance scheme for smaller scale installations.
To summarise, in response to climate change, government is developing legislation which is producing drivers across the environmental sector which will require innovative responses to the opportunities created. The environmental and financial regulators recognise the need for innovation and are developing policies to support and promote its uptake. So is it a time for the pessimistic optimist or the optimistic pessimist? Whichever is needed, they need to be primarily a realist to be able to maximise the potential of the varied opportunities, current and prospective, that climate change and consequent legislation and regulation are now presenting to environmental engineers.
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