Enabling Water Smart Communities
Rethinking whole-life water stewardship to accelerate the adoption of integrated water management, supporting communities and the environment to thrive
About
Enabling Water Smart Communities is an innovation project exploring the relationship between integrated water management and housing development to unlock new opportunities for cross-sector delivery and stewardship.
The emerging transition framework combines the components of the EWSC model – with different scales of action. Insights are situated within this framework. THE research areas align with the emerging EWSC model. Within each research area different scales of action and system complexity are considered. Some insight articles may cover a specific area, others may relate across a number of different scales of action The Discovery MIRO board sets out the proposed insight articles aligned with the emerging EWSC framework.
Stewardship
How can stewardship models deliver shared outcomes and value(s)?
What’s next?
EWSC Framework
Assets
What types of partnerships are required to expand lifespan of assets, increase resilience, and maximise shared value in response to emerging challenges?
The transition framework will be tested throughout design and development phases through a series of demonstrators, with the learning fed back to further iterate and improve the project outputs and create new learning and evidence.
We have structured delivery the demonstrators through four different development models that reflect complex nature of the housing delivery. Each of the models brings different challenges and opportunities for delivery and whole-life stewardship of water and housing assets. The boundary between these models is not fixed – these are highly interdependent. The descriptions opposite offer a useful starting point and lens through which to test and bring to life the research, innovation and proposed new approaches.
They are being delivered across a range of different geographies, with each led by cross-sector working groups to ensure that learnings are transferable across different contexts. The demonstrators will involve a range of interventions from physical infrastructure solutions on specific sites, to testing and development of non-structural interventions. The characteristics of each of the demonstrators will be defined following the discovery phase with monitoring and evaluation by our academic partners to ensure that they focus on areas of maximum impact.
Public sector led
Typically led by a local authority, housing association or other non-profit management organisation able to take a longer-term interest and role in delivery, management and a return on investment. This model can enable different funding and financing, greater focus on whole lifecycle value and going beyond minimum standards to deliver cross-sector place-based outcomes.
Community led
Typically self-initiated housing groups co-creating, co-investing and co-designing new housing, with future community involved from the outset. Typically these are smaller scale developments, with a longer term interest, they often challenge conventional design delivery, financing and ownership models. Often values-driven and keen to innovate beyond basic regulatory standards.
Value
How is value created and circulated, and how can it be managed differently?
Private sector led
Typically looking for a shorter-term return on investment and more dependent on current market and finance conditions. Often requiring a clear ’exit strategy’ handing over to others to own and maintain assets which can hinder some stewardship models. Can be focused on compliance and minimum regulatory standards, but in the right conditions can also drive innovation and push boundaries.
Water sector led
The project will explore the role of the water companies as anchor institutions with a long-term commitment to place. Supporting this research, this demonstrator will look beyond business-as-usual to consider how water companies could play a key role in enabling water-smart housing development and wider outcomes linked to new whole-life asset stewardship models.
Our design-led approach will be underpinned by four interdependent research themes
Rethinking
Values
Roles
Assets
Evidence
Partners
To deliver this transformational project we have brought together UK and global water utilities, globally recognised innovators in the built environment and consumer behaviour in water, leading academics and industry bodies.
Lead partners
Funded partners
Support partners
This project is urgently needed to bring together the wide range of development partners to identify and break down barriers to integrated water management. It is essential that we come together at a time when water demand is only going to continue through both growth and climate change; to demonstrate a replicable approach for future sustainable development.
George Warren, Integrated Water Management Lead, Anglian Water
Latest News
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Visions of a water smart community: workshop at Flood and Coast
“Hardware interventions, such as SuDS, have an important role to play but we need to look beyond technical solutions to realise water smart communities’ full potential”, explained Claire Hoolohan and Ella Foggitt from the University of Manchester.
22 June 2023
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What even is a water smart community?
“Hardware interventions, such as SuDS, have an important role to play but we need to look beyond technical solutions to realise water smart communities’ full potential”, explained Claire Hoolohan and Ella Foggitt from the University of Manchester.
30 May 2023
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Extreme Weather is becoming the new normal…
The baseline of the climate across England is changing, as is what we regard as normal. England and Wales have just experienced their wettest Marches since 1981, with Northern Ireland seeing its wettest on record.
2 May 2023
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A dual-pipe supply future for new homes
he majority of households across England and Wales have one source of usable water in their homes – the mains. This water is world class in quality, drinkable straight from the tap, but why are we using expensive, top-quality water to flush our toilets?
20 Apr 2023
