Entec Bulletin
Defining Best Practice in Water Efficiency Research
An unlimited supply of clean water is often taken for granted, however, there is a constant need for the water industry to manage the supply/demand balance. Since February 1996, water companies in England and Wales have had a statutory duty to promote the efficient use of water and, as a result, the last few years have seen an increased effort from the industry to encourage efficient water use by its customers. This has focused primarily on the distribution of water efficiency devices, such as cistern devices and self-audit packs. However, in general, there has been uncertainty about the true savings gained through such activity.
To tackle this uncertainty, UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) commissioned Entec to develop a Framework Process to define best practice in water efficiency research that will enable water companies to produce sound estimates of water efficiency savings. Rob Lawson, Entec's Project Manager, says: "The purpose of the best practice guidance is to improve understanding of how effective water efficiency campaigns really are, enabling water companies to measure how much water is saved, and at what cost".
A review of existing research kick started the three-year study, helping to develop a set of ten best practice guidelines covering all aspects of a study, from project management issues to methods of data analysis. These generic guidelines could be applied to any area of water efficiency research.
Best practice guidance for several of the most commonly researched water efficiency activities, such as cistern devices and water audits, was also produced. These guidelines were presented at a project workshop and were refined, based on industry feedback, to ensure consensus was maintained throughout the process.
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demonstration projects were then used to implement the best practice guidelines
for the first time. Applying the guidelines to
real-life projects ensured that the final product would be genuinely useful
to water companies, providing a greater understanding of the benefits
of water efficiency and giving them the opportunity to review water efficiency
in parallel
with other, more traditional resource options such as reservoirs and
boreholes.
Ofwat, the industry's financial regulator, has praised the project, stating that the study will 'provide robust information on the cost effectiveness of water efficiency, to the benefit of the industry as a whole'.
The Framework Process is currently being applied to a research project concerning the disaggregated savings from metering for the Environment Agency and Dee Valley Water. This project is also being managed by Entec. The results of the study are due in early 2004.
Copies of the report are available
from UKWIR (www.ukwir.org.uk).
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