Addressing water scarcity for Cambridgeshire 'Silicon Valley’

Tension between growth and water supplies is playing out in one of the driest regions of the country. The Enabling Water Smart Communities Project is developing solutions that address the shared challenges facing the water and development sector.

As part of last week's Spring Budget the government launched 'A Case for Cambridge', a plan to create ‘Europe's answer to Silicon Valley’ - growing the economy by approximately £6.4 billion by 2050 and delivering 150,000 new homes.

 But where will the water come from to underpin this growth in one of the driest regions of the country that already faces a significant water scarcity challenge? 

 The government has revealed plans to establish a new water credit system that will ensure housing developers have a neutral impact on water scarcity in the Cambridge area. Developers will need to increase levels of water efficiency and reuse in new homes, with remaining water offset through the purchase of water credits.

 Credits will be created through retrofitting existing properties with water efficient showers, toilets and washing machines, monitored using water company metering data and assured through the Environment Agency and an appointed market operator.

Detailed design work on the credits system is currently underway with the local planning authority, developers, the Environment Agency and other key stakeholders.

The Enabling Water Smart Communities (EWSC) project is already helping to unlock growth in places like Cambridge through 'enabling actions' for mainstreaming water reuse in new housing developments. EWSC recognises that rainwater capture and water reuse at a housing development scale may be quicker to deliver, potentially more cost effective and likely to be less carbon intensive than larger water resources schemes such as desalination plants and reservoirs.

The project is developing an end-to-end journey for enabling water reuse systems in housing developments, from design to installation to maintenance and monitoring. This includes defining the responsibilities of and benefits to different institutions involved (housing developers, local authorities, and water companies), and the associated costs and incentives required. 

 Water reuse requires a dual pipe system: one potable water system for drinking and washing, and one reuse system for practices such as toilet flushing and garden watering. There are some inherent challenges with delivering 'dual pipe' systems to homes, so EWSC is developing a detailed roadmap to help water companies navigate and overcome them. 

Importantly, the project's academic research is exploring individual practices and values associated with water that will inform water saving campaigns and embed true water smart living in places like Cambridge. 

Read more about EWSC here: https://www.ewsc.org.uk/action-area-projects