A way of successfully managing water is to adopt environmental assessment methods. These can be distinguished into two categories: the mandatory and the voluntary. The Building Regulations, which were made a legal requirement by the Building Act in 1984, are a compulsory method. They are formed to ensure the health, safety, welfare and convenience of people in and around buildings and apply to most new and many existing buildings. However they only cover basic performance standards and not the quality of construction. Water efficiency is part of the Approved Document Part G. In the 2009 revised version it is stated that water provided should not exceed 125 litres per person per day of wholesome water. This also includes a fixed factor of water for outdoor equal to 5 litres per person per day. This also applies when more than one dwelling is installed, like a building block (The Building Regulations, 2009). This is also the minimum provision in the Code of Sustainable Homes (Department for Communities and Local Government, 2009).
A voluntary environmental assessment method is the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREAAM). BREEAM as suggested by the name is an independent environmental assessment method for buildings, nationally and internationally recognised. It is a credit based (9 categories) certification scheme and it is updated annually. For every building there is a pre-assessment estimator and an assessor manual. The second is intended to be used only by licensed BREEAM assessors. Despite the fact that a pre-assessment estimator exists for homes, an assessor manual does not. Small residential buildings (for example semi-detached houses) have to comply with the Code of Sustainable Homes. For this essay, in order to assess how effectively BREEAM assesses water related issues the pre-assessment estimator for eco-homes was used as well as the Code of Sustainable Homes and the assessor manual for multi-residential buildings.
The aim in the Code of Sustainable Homes is “To reduce the consumption of potable water in the home from all sources, including borehole well water, through the use of water efficient fittings, appliances and water recycling systems” (Department for Communities and Local Government, 2009). A total of five credits can be rewarded for indoor water use depending on the amount of water used per day, for example the use of 120 litres per person per day awards one credit while the use of 80 litres per person per day or less awards 5 credits. The use of rainwater, although suggested, only contributes one credit and it refers to the external use of water. For a home, the above are enough, since leakages can be easily detected and prevented. They are also part of the litres used per day and thus, it can be argued that the BREEAM has covered this issue. However, the collection of rainwater and/or grey-water should be more encouraged and maybe it should be included in the mandatory elements as well. Additionally, in the pre-assessment estimator of eco-homes the same are suggested with the exception being the total credits that can be achieved (BREEAM:Ecohomes, 2006). In the assessor manual for multi-residential buildings however, there are six sub-sections, each one dealing with a different aspect of water use and efficiency. These include (BREEAM: BRE Environmental & Sustainability Standard, 2008):
- Water Consumption
- Water Meter
- Major Leak Detection
- Sanitary Supply Shut-Off
- Water Recycling
- Irrigation System
With the exception of the first two and “Water Recycling”, which is part of “Water Consumption”, for the rest, additional credits can be achieved but it is not compulsory giving the impression that they are not significant. Yet if the 3 billion litres of water are considered, “Major Leak Detection” should be a mandatory element and it should also be encouraged.
As mentioned earlier, BREEAM is a credit based scheme which also involves environmental weightings for the assessment. In order to calculate the total score, one has to multiply the percentage of the credits achieved with the respective weighting. The weightings for each category are as follows:
Table 1: BREEAM 2008 Environmental Weightings (BREEAM: BRE Environmental & Sustainability Standard, 2008)
It can be seen that water is on the bottom of the list having the least weighting among the rest. Hence, and by considering the above as well, it can be concluded that BREEAM does not assess water as effectively as it should. Even worst, one could argue that BREEAM does not assess water effectively at all having as a priority the litres consumed per day per person but not where these are consumed and by giving the least possible weighting gives the impression that water efficiency and management is not crucial at all.
In the above essay, an attempt was made to explain why water efficiency is a concern to local communities and governments as well as what are the broader impacts of the built environment on water management. An attempt was also made to assess how effectively does the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) treat water related issues. It concluded that water efficiency is indeed a concern since, billions of potable water is lost every day for purposes where rainwater and grey-water can be used, or due to leakages which can be prevented. Water management has a key role in minimizing the potable water which is lost, and can be achieved by using both mandatory and voluntary methods. However, it is up to all people individually to achieve a better water efficiency for everyone. As Dr. Richard Carter and Sarah Harmer say, “Professional institutes such as IEEM try to set standards for ecological surveys, but there are limits to what they can do. The natural world is complex, and prescriptive survey guidelines have time and again proved worthless in a world where every ecological survey turns out to be somehow unique” (Carter & Harmer, 2008). Finally, “Judgement as to the sustainability of a building is made based on its predicted performance. Without post occupancy assessment how can one possibly know whether BREEAM is successfully predicting the sustainability and overall environmental nature of a building project” (Anonymous, obtained from the lecture notes).
Bibliography
BREEAM: BRE Environmental & Sustainability Standard. (2008). BES 5064: ISSUE 1.0: BREEAM Multi-residential 2008 Assessor Manual. BRE Global.
BREEAM:Ecohomes. (2006). The Environmental Rating For Homes. BRE Global.
Brody, S. D., Zahran, S., Highfield, W. E., Grover, H., & Vedlitz, A. (2007). Identifying The Impact Of The Built Environment On Flood Damage In Texas. USA: Blackwell Publishing.
Carter, R., & Harmer, S. (2008, October 12). Eco-Expertise Please. Local Government and the Regions - Issue 13 .
Cooper, E. (2009). Lecture Notes On The Environmental Assessment of the Build Environment. Nottingham: University of Nottingham.
DEFRA. (2009). The Environment In Your Pocket. United Kingdom: Crown.
Department for Communities and Local Government. (2009). Code for Sustainable Homes: Technical Guide, Version 2. London: Crown.
Felicity, L. (2008, August 20). Revealed: The Massive Scale of UK's Water Consumption. The Guardian .
Save The Rain. (n.d.). Retrieved January 2, 2010, from Water Facts: http://www.savetherain.info/water-saving-tips/water-facts.aspx
The Building Regulations. (2009). The Building Regulations 2000: Approved Document G: Sanitation, Hot Water Safety and Water Efficieny (Draft). Retrieved January 04, 2010, from Planing Portal: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_draftADG_2009.pdf