The Good Homes Alliance (GHA) has launched a new publication - ‘Water Efficiency and Reuse in Housing: Design Guide for a Changing Climate’
Developed for architects, developers, planners, and housing associations, the guide, authored and edited by Tom Dollard and Rory Olcayto from Pollard Thomas Edwards (PTE), provides case studies, best practice, and industry insight to respond to the urgent need for ‘water-smart’ homes due to mounting water stress in the UK. You can download the guide here.
In this short excerpt from the guide, CIWEM head of policy & engagement Cat Moncrieff talks about research into community perspectives on water reuse, and how we can address the ‘Ick factor’.
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One of the perceived barriers to community level water reuse is that people are put off by the idea of using water that has essentially been through their neighbours – we refer to this as the ‘ick’ factor. This is despite the fact water reuse is the norm, and is even mandated in certain countries, including France and Spain.
Enabling Water Smart Communities (EWSC) is exploring and overcoming such barriers to water efficient housing. We commissioned Public First to undertake an opinion poll with over 4,000 UK adults to explore public attitudes around water reuse and scarcity. It was more than just a straightforward poll: it included over 100 questions and incorporated experiments to test how water recycling type, location and treatment affect the public’s attitudes.
The principal finding was that, whilst water scarcity isn’t anywhere near the top of people’s concerns, overwhelmingly people are open to reuse. Over 75% would be willing to use recycled water to flush the toilet, for example.
The survey found that the type of reuse matters: people are very amenable to reusing rainwater but are averse to the idea of reusing toilet water. People are most willing to use recycled water for toilet flushing and outdoor uses such as watering and cleaning, but proposals to use recycled water for drinking are unpopular.
The poll also tested positive and negative message around reuse. It found that people responded positively to cost saving and – particularly for rainwater reuse – sustainability and common-sense messaging.
For negative messaging, people were influenced when messaging cited the potential health risks of reuse. Interestingly, the poll found that when participants knew more about the process and definitions of greywater, they were more concerned about risks. This could be because the risk of cross contamination between drinking and non-drinking water became more apparent.
The broad support for water reuse is corroborated by qualitative research conducted by the University of Manchester, also as part of EWSC, which was able to capture the nuance and conditionality of people’s support for water reuse. The study found that support for reuse is dependent on trust: trust in the technology itself, but also how it is managed and governed.
The research is clear: people are up for reuse when not ‘toilet to tap’ but trust in the system – both hardware and software – is critical to allay any health concerns.
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You can read industry insights, case studies, best practice and more in the full guide. You can access it here.