House builders call for wider rollout of water efficiency scheme

The House Builders Federation has called for the nationwide rollout of a United Utilities programme to incentivise property developers to build water efficient homes with sustainable drainage systems.

The scheme offers developers a 90% discount on water connection charges for new homes with measures such as efficient fixtures, fittings and appliances designed to keep daily water usage significantly below the building regulation standard of 125 litres per person.

United Utilities (UU) said more than 86,000 new builds have benefitted from the discount since the programme was launched in 2018, saving developers £25 million on connection charges and cutting water usage by up to 3.8 million litres per day.

Graham Morley, strategy and compliance manager at UU, said the threshold for receiving the discount was originally set 110 litres per person per day. “Due to the success of the scheme and being keen to encourage further water efficiency we reduced the threshold to 100 litres per person daily in 2020,” he added.

The programme also offers a 90% discount of wastewater connection charges for homes with sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) that channel surface water away from sewers. By replicating natural drainage, SuDS can help meet environmental challenges such as climate change and population growth, manage flood risk and water quality, and provide habitats for plants and animals.

UU said 58,000 properties have taken advantage of the wastewater discount since 2018, cutting connection charges by more than £19 million. The company said developers can save up to £523 in total for each new plot by building water efficient homes that discharge surface water sustainably.

“It’s great to see so many developers innovating and rising to the challenge of building homes which are water efficient and feature sustainable drainage, “added Morley. “We are considering a number of future incentives including rainwater harvesting and grey water recycling, smart water butts and infiltration systems for surface water drainage. We’re also trialling whole-home water flow regulators with some of our own employees.”

Given the success of the scheme, the House Builders Federation has called for it to be replicated in other parts of the country with high water scarcity. The organisation’s technical director, Kieran Walker, said: “Water consumption and efficiency will be key to the design of new homes as we move forward to the Future Homes Standard in 2025, so to see a pioneering approach like this driven by the water supplier is very much welcomed and is in stark contrast to other areas of the country where slowdowns in housing delivery have been encountered, due to a lack of forward planning in relation to water abstraction.”

Gareth Rogers, services manager for Keepmoat Homes, commented: “The sustainability advantages are clear to see. The reduced water usage in each plot due to the fittings used throughout allows for a more sustainable product and therefore reduces the water usage of the customers living in our properties. This is extremely beneficial to the customers, particularly in the current climate with increased living costs, as the less water they use, the lower their bills could be.”