What even is a water smart community?

Millenium Promenade, Bristol

Across England and Wales our water cycle is at risk with too much, too little and poor-quality water. We are experiencing frequent severe flooding, sustained droughts and increased impacts on water quality. Projected UK housing growth in its current form will increase demand on water services to an unsustainable position, as well as impacting the wider environment.

Creating water smart communities is a solution to this, treating water where it falls, reducing flood risk and improving water quality both as an amenity and in local environments.

But what exactly is a water smart community?

Members of the EWSC project team came together to answer this question in the June issue CIWEM’s The Environment magazine.

What is a water smart community?

A water smart community would include physical solutions, such as SuDS or a dual pipe network. However, the ‘software’ solutions which build on the social aspects, play just as important a role towards a more sustainable water future.

“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.

Most communities receive their water straight from the tap and directly from the water company. By integrating people in in the cycle, as active citizens rather than as passive consumers, we shape a community’s attitude to the resource and include them in decision-making.

“A water smart community is one which plays an active role in shaping water, and communities themselves must play a significant role in their development and management”, said University of East Anglia associate professor, Tom Hargreaves.

CIWEM director of innovation and delivery, Paul Shaffer, added “a water smart community needs to put people at the front and centre. We need to work with communities to manage the challenges we face around too much, too little and the wrong quality of water.

A water smart community combines different elements of water management to deliver multiple benefits for communities and the environment. This integrated approach to water management delivers sustainable water use, increased resilience to climate change, improved biodiversity and can lower household bills. Importantly, there is no single one size fits all solution - it is an holistic approach.

The full article is available in the June 2023 issue of The Environment magazine.