Looking after water can help us all

The water cycle is an example of a natural circular economy, with used water ultimately being recycled back to the environment and for further use by people and businesses. Yet too often we take the availability of water for granted. Abstracting water from the environment, altering the surfaces to change the nature of water runoff, and discharging waste into water alters this natural cycle. We can improve environmental outcomes and resource efficiency by changing how we use and manage our water resources, for example by limiting the volume of water that needs to be extracted from the environment and treated.

In our towns and cities, green and blue spaces strengthen communities, enabling people to come together, improve health and wellbeing and build relationships. Living close to and using green and blue spaces can reduce mortality rates and help to cut health inequalities.

Recognising the scale of the challenge

In early 2019, Sir James Bevan gave a speech where he spoke of the ‘jaws of death’ around water scarcity in the next 25 years. More recently this summer the Public Accounts Committee report concluded that the risk is far greater and we will run out of water in the next 20 years if we don’t act now.

Working across the East of England I have seen first-hand the impacts of our changing climate, temperature rises, and extremes of weather causing drought and flood. The East of England, where Anglian Water operates, is the driest part of the UK and is already feeling these impacts sooner and more keenly than elsewhere. Together with rapid population growth in our region, the climate emergency and its impacts constitute Anglian Water’s most acute challenge.

Years ago, the water sector would have tackled this problem with a traditional solution, such as building a new reservoir. It would have been delivered well and efficiently, and it would have solved the problem, on the face of it. Now, we need to stop thinking in a fixed way about the future and move to a scenario-based approach, developing supply and demand-based strategies. It won’t always be raining in the north west of our region and dry in the south east – in recent days the met office have reminded us that climate change is much more uncertain than that. We need to think about potential future scenarios and develop strategies that position us best to tackle the most likely ones. When you combine challenges against the likely picture for water supplies you realise that many sectors will be impacted and that only through working with others can we create one common multi-sector plan that positions us all in the best place possible.

One of the flagship schemes for such a strategy is the Future Fenland Strategy being led by Water Resources East, a partnership of over 100 different organisations with a stake in the water environment. The project looks at the potential to combine flood defence with the provision of water for public supply, energy and agriculture and the opportunity for social regeneration and sustainable new housing as a result. It’s this kind of holistic thinking which is unlocking new opportunity which simply wouldn’t have been there before.

In 2018 I visited Cape Town during its water crisis when they were very close to running out of water. Already there were harsh restrictions which meant that water was ever present in everyone’s mind. Describing the situation, a consistent message I heard from the locals was “They knew this was coming, we should have acted sooner and now it is costing us” – it’s a tall order to make sure we avoid this scenario, but there is progress. 

Reconnecting water with the built environment

A key part of meeting water challenges is reconnecting with the water environment. In one way or another the built environment has its origins in the water environment, be that the proximity to waterways for transportation or improvements in sanitation. Somewhere along the way we lost this connection. Perhaps as we became so good at moving water around our priorities moved to other areas – it has become an afterthought. Other than the few of us who pick out the pumping station down the road, or the outfall on the river, how many people understand where their water comes from and where it goes?

But that is changing, we are rediscovering how water is fundamental to the character of our places. We are seeing a resurgence of natural measures to manage flood risk, treat used water and create distinctive places. Encouraging projects such as Hull’s Living with Water, Manchester’s Ignition and Newmarket’s Smarter drop are demonstrating what in practice can be achieved at different scales across the country.

As the government once again opens the debate on the reform of our land use planning system there is a growing body of evidence that shows that we can and should only accommodate the scale of growth needed by introducing integrated water management features. Alongside the wider future homes agenda, water measures should include:

a)  The highest standards of water efficiency in new developments. As a minimum, new homes should be designed to use no more than 100 litres per person per day (l/p/d). The current optional standard within building regulations of 110l/p/d is not good enough in water-stressed parts of the country like the east of England where 110l/p/d is already commonplace.

b)  Green and grey water apture and reuse, at both the property and development level. In particular, a greater focus on three areas:

• Stormwater harvesting: This captures surface water runoff in a storage tank or pond (or sustainable drainage system) for non-potable reuse in the home, such as toilet flushing, or for watering gardens and public spaces.
• Rainwater harvesting: This involves collecting rainwater from roofs that can be used to flush toilets and water gardens.
• Water recycling systems: Capturing used water from the home and cleaning it for reuse, either at a property- or development-level scale.

c)  High quality, multi-functional, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). Creation of green spaces through SuDS can deliver biodiversity, water quality and flood risk benefits, as well as reduce pressures on public sewers and drinking water supplies. Good quality SuDS that deliver a range of biodiversity, water quality and other benefits are still the exception in new development.

Allan Simpson is Strategic Growth Manager at Anglian Water