62 INDUSTRY VIEWFINDER: APPROACH TO WATER EFFICIENCY IN NEW HOMES PROBLEM ASSESSMENT


Do you think the ‘optional’ standard of 110 litres per person (to be mandated by local authority) in Part G would be better as a mandatory maximum usage limit?


n  so far, following the hottest une on record in the , drought has been reported in evon, ornwall and ast nglia, with a decline in reservoir and groundwater levels, as well as river fl ows in parts of ngland. he overnment reckons that by , the  may need around four billion additional litres of water per day to meet future demand for public water supply, with experts warning that action on water resilience must be taken now to determine how these signifi cant needs will be met.


PART G A CONTEXT OF SHORTAGES


he  relies on winter rainfall to restock our reservoirs, lakes and rivers, and last year was on record as the driest the country had experienced since , as well as being the second hottest summer ever. he hot weather caused us to use more water peak demand was at a  increase in some areas. ater companies had to fi nd millions of extra litres per day for homes and businesses, and were forced to introduce hose pipe bans to manage demand.


everal hosepipe bans were still in place in ovember, despite intervening rain, but by the end of , the year was the driest since , with its famous summer heatwave. he extent of the drought meant the ’s underground aquifers, which contain the groundwater we rely on, took a substantial time to be recharged with water.


he water companies have been attempting to tackle water leaks for years, and have managed to reduce them by , however they have an ambitious target to cut leaks by half by . ompanies have employed innovative measures such as drones and radar plus smart technologies, showing issues occurring in real time, to try and tackle the problems effectively. hey also carry out home visits distributing water-saving devices and fi xing leaks in homes.


ach water company has a -year water resource management plan to balance demand and supply, and mitigate the impact of future drought conditions. arge water resilience schemes are being pursued across the country to deal with the issues identifi ed across catchments. owever, with climate change posing huge threats to resilience, the companies issued a further  proposals in  for maor cross-country proects that would increase capacity by .


PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH


n addition to the tightening of energy requirements in art  of the uilding egulations, there is a requirement for housebuilders to comply with art , specifi cally  concerning water effi ciency. he base art  water consumption requirement of  litres per person per day remains unchanged however the  update regulation optional requirement for tighter water effi ciency of  litres per person per day has been introduced, and this can be enforced by local authorities. ddly enough, the  advises proect teams that it’s down to them to inform uilding ontrol as to whether a scheme is being designed to the optional tighter levels. hey say t’s important that the person submitting the building regulation application informs the local authority uilding ontrol department of this planning requirement. s one example of key appliances affected, in order for showers to meet art  in new builds in ngland they must have a maximum consumption or fl ow rate’ of  litres per minute predicated on meeting the standard notional’ level of  litres per person per day. owever the optional  litres per person per day means a possible  litres per minute can be enforced. n ales, the regulations go further, requiring that average water usage does not exceed  litres per person per day for all new dwellings and  litres in conversions.


he  update to pproved ocument art  in ngland contained a range of changes impacting on water effi ciency.


Do you believe your customers will tolerate the performance of products required from the optional target (110 litres/day per person)?


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