Urban futures and the code for sustainable homes

Abstract

A 6?6 ha (66 000 m 2 ) regeneration site, commonly referred to as Luneside East, is to be turned from a run down, economically under-achieving area of Lancaster, UK, into a new, distinctive, vibrant, sustainable quarter of the city. As a result several aspects of water planning for 350 new homes and 8000 m 2 of workspace needed to be considered before any infrastructure investment was undertaken. This included assessment of the future capacity requirements (i.e. inflows and outflows) for water infrastructure (i.e. mains water supply, wastewater disposal, rainwater storage and stormwater disposal) much of which will be located underground. This paper looks at the implications of various water management strategies on the Luneside East site (e.g. water-efficient appliances, greywater recycling and rainwater harvesting) in line with current policy measures that focus on technology changes alone (e.g. the code for sustainable homes). Based on these findings this paper outlines some basic implications for technological resilience discussed in the context of four 'world views' -that is, the urban futures scenarios considered in this special issue.Conclusions are drawn as to how far this can take engineers, planners and developers in understanding and planning for resilient water infrastructure within a development like Luneside East.

An Overview of Hybrid Water Supply Systems in the Context of Urban Water Management: Challenges and Opportunities

“…Grey water reuse can help to reduce reliance on traditional water sources that are under stress and it can also significantly reduce wastewater discharge [57,58]. Because the amount of greywater produced in a household and the amount of water used for toilet flushing in a household are nearly the same, grey water systems have the potential of more or less replacing the household water demand for toilet flushing thus potentially reducing potable water usage by up to 30% [59][60][61].…”

Scenario-based sustainable water management and urban regeneration

“…& Rainwater harvesting saves large volume of mains (potable) water and prevents similar volumes of water entering the stormwater system resulting in financial and ecological benefits. Rainwater harvesting can save up to 50% of domestic water demand (Hunt et al, 2012); however, the yield is uncertain. The effects of seasonal variation can be reduced by increasing the size of the storage reservoir in rainwater harvesting systems, which can be designed to store water for up to 21 days (BSI, 2009).…”

“…The effects of seasonal variation can be reduced by increasing the size of the storage reservoir in rainwater harvesting systems, which can be designed to store water for up to 21 days (BSI, 2009). & Greywater recycling for water closet flushing has the potential to save up to 30% of domestic water demand (Eriksson et al, 2002;Hunt et al, 2012) and provide a reliable and continuous source of supply. However, financial gains will be small as the payback period is long.…”

“…'7' indicates that the necessary conditions no longer exist or have changed to a prohibitive degree whereby the intended benefit is not deliverable. Hunt et al (2012) provide a quantitative evidence base to show how these sustainability solutions perform when changes in necessary conditions related to technological efficiency alone are considered.…”

“…Although potable water demand savings of up to 50% from rainwater harvesting (Hunt et al, 2012) ? Provided non-potable demands decrease at the same rate as GW supplies enough water will be stored each day to meet non-potable demands 3 Enough GW is stored to meet non-potable demands for haves every day FW 5 fortress world; GW 5 greywater; MF 5 market forces; NSP 5 new sustainability paradigm; PR 5 policy reform; RWH 5 rainwater harvesting Table 5.…”