Welsh Green Paper: Sustainable Water Management – An Insight into the Future of Water Reuse Policy in Wales

The consultation on Sustainable Water Management in Wales is now open! The Welsh Green Paper provides a Wales-specific response to the UK Government’s Independent Review into the Water Sector, also known as the Cunliffe Review. As expected, water reuse features within the proposals.

Wales is already a leader in sustainable water management, having introduced mandatory sustainable urban drainage (SuDS) for new developments over 100m² in 2018, through Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

This Green Paper aims to further strengthen that leadership, with an emphasis on ‘pre-pipe’ solutions for water management.

What does it say about water reuse?

• Recommendation 40 specifically addresses water reuse infrastructure, highlighting the need for rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling.
• The paper recognises water reuse as ‘critical’, stressing the need for greater reliance on rainwater harvesting and greywater.
• The Welsh Government has committed to reviewing the current legislative barriers preventing community rainwater harvesting adoption.
• This review will engage the industry to identify opportunities and challenges to promote wider uptake of both rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling in Wales.
• The paper acknowledges that these reforms could be complex but are necessary to ensure Wales has a water system that ‘uses water wisely’.

Our thoughts

Overall, we support the proposed reforms, particularly those focused on water reuse and rainwater harvesting. We look forward to positively collaborating with the Welsh Government during future consultations on this topic.

We believe these reforms build on the success of the 2018 Schedule 3 implementation of mandatory SuDS. The emphasis on water reuse as ‘critical’ is especially encouraging. Every new property built without water reuse adds to water scarcity and surface water runoff. Retrofitting rainwater harvesting systems later can cost 50% more than including them at the construction stage.

For this reason, we recommend that Wales consider mandatory water reuse in all new residential and commercial developments be incorporated into the Welsh Green Paper and future policy.

Key things to know:

• Current technical standards
• Best practice guidance
• Maintenance and design information
• Common design mistakes and how to avoid them

How to learn more:

• Book one of our free CPD sessions
• Stay updated via our latest expert articles
• Contact our technical estimating team for advice on project implementation