Building water efficiency into the future
Whether your project is a house, small building, roadway or land development, decisions you make now will have a big impact on how much water is used for years to come.
Include water conservation at every stage of your construction project:
- In the design phase, prepare a water efficient action plan for your project that involves your team and includes actions during construction, appliances and plumbing to be installed, reuse potential, landscaping and rainwater utilisation.
- Reduce evaporation by retaining as much vegetation as possible during construction and minimise disturbance of waterways, flood plains, vegetation and soil.
- After construction, minimise the distance between hot water cylinders and taps to increase water efficiency and reduce unnecessary piping and energy costs. Collect rainwater for storage and re-use in tanks, ponds, dams, swimming pools or underground tanks as well as installing water efficient irrigation systems.
Designing roads and carparks to collect and conserve water!
- Use natural drainage swales instead of costly concrete drainage pipes in greenfield sites.
- Harvest rainwater from car parks by directing runoff into recharge zones such as grassed or planted swales, permanent ponding basins or graded rock terracing.
- Design ground surfaces and paved areas to slope away from buildings and structures to enable water to run onto surrounding garden areas and recharge zones.
Benefits of focusing on water efficiency in planning
By minimising water usage in all aspects of your project, developers and builders can gain a marketing advantage over competitors by:
- delivering ongoing savings to building owners
- reducing the need for water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, which lowers the overall construction cost
- ensuring clients are prepared for future water restrictions, and will be able to avoid the need for costly retrofitting later
- demonstrating a commitment to responsible project management, which may accelerate the land-use approval process
- addressing the needs of clients with an interest in protecting water resources, such as water authorities and government agencies
- marketing to clients who value environmental and social performance.
- ensuring more water is available for local streams, wetlands, and their natural inhabitants
- meeting regulatory requirements and incentives for water conservation
- reducing impact on local water supplies and systems.
Case studies
Find out how different businesses are saving water.