EWSC Project Reports

Delivered as part of EWSC ‘Enabling Actions’

Reports

Here are a list of all the EWSC project reports so far, listed in chronological order. Each project report has been produced by an EWSC project member as part of the individual ‘Enabling Actions’ that make up the EWSC project.

Community-led stewardship: Research insights

  • This workstream explored the concept of community-based stewardship, specifically focusing on the stewardship of water-related assets in new developments.

    It uncovered insights on the challenges and barriers associated with implementing community stewardship, and developed approaches for overcoming these – leading to the development of a Blueprint for water stewardship for use at different stages of community development.

EWSC Independent Water Commission response: Managing rainwater where it falls

  • This report sets out a rationale and evidence to the Independent Water Commission (IWC) on the need for a more concerted approach to both harvesting and using rainwater beneficially where it falls, and likewise infiltrating, storing and slowing it to reduce flood risk and pollution from overloaded combined sewer networks and contaminated runoff from highways and other hard surfaces.

The case for water smart housing: economic and public perspective analysis

  • This economic analysis by Public First estimates the proportion of planned homes that could be delayed by a lack of water capacity in the southeast and east of England, and the potential knock-on impact to the economy over the next five years.

    Public perspectives around water scarcity and reuse were explored through an anonymous online survey of over 4,000 people across the UK.

Water reuse in new housing: Understanding the business case

  • This study sought to increase clarity over the costs of installing individual property or community-scale water reuse by sourcing and analysing capital cost information on the main components of water reuse installations: external pipework, storage and treatment equipment, and internal pipework.

Water reuse regulations and guidance: A single source of truth

  • In a previous report from the The EWSC project “A Roadmap to Water Reuse V2.0”, a key finding was that there was confusion over the relevant regulations and guidance in the water reuse area.

    This report considers the regulations and guidance (with emphasis on non-potable, community-scale schemes) in concurrent stages from the initial concept of a water reuse initiative through to its on-going operation.

Integrated Water Management Studies (IWMS) review

  • The Enabling Water Smart Communities (EWSC) project has published a landmark review of Integrated Water Management Studies (IWMS) across the UK, offering vital insights into the current landscape of sustainable water management — and a clear path forward.

    The report also sets out a robust set of practical recommendations designed to accelerate the uptake and impact of Integrated Water Management.

A Roadmap for enabling water reuse in new housing developments

  • The Roadmap identifies in chronological order the key activities required, primarily by Water companies, but also others, in order for England and Wales to be ready to rapidly implement community scale water reuse schemes going forward.

    The roadmap was developed via a workshop with several water companies and later refined at a roundtable with water industry regulators. To ensure a holistic approach, the work covers: Political, Environmental, Social, Technological, Legal and Economic issues.

Summary of Water Sector Environmental Incentives 2025-2026 Charging Period

  • This new report from EWSC is an attempt to simplify the environmental incentive offering across the sector, by compiling all the environmental incentive offerings into this single document in a table format as well as providing a two-page summary of each, which follows a common structure.

    We hope the combination of these resources will encourage developers to see water reuse as a viable option when constructing new homes across the UK.

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