The Water Column by ech2o
A new insider column is introduced in Green Building Magazine. All about water
Cath Hassell of ech2o is now a regular columnist for Green Building magazine which has been producing cutting edge and hard hitting articles about sustainable building for over 10 years. There are two ways to receive this quarterly magazine; either subscribe directly, or, join the AECB where the magazine is delivered as a member benefit. She will be writing about sustainable water issues focussing on water within the UK’s built environment. It will consider how water can be used on a site to provide amenity, biodiversity and to improve the micro climate; how to use water within our buildings as efficiently as possible, and when best to consider offsetting mains water by using rainwater or greywater; address any relevant legislative and environmental drivers; make clear links between water use and CO2 emissions; provide best practice guidance for different sustainable water solutions; and cover new products and systems that come onto the market.
Some of the questions that will be asked and answered over the coming months will include the following: whether the Scottish Government, when they revise their Building Regulations to deliver water efficiency into Scotland’s buildings, will follow the water calculator method or specify maximum allowable flow rates and cistern volumes; what effect the large scale retrofit of meters to domestic properties in the south and east of England over the next five years will have on water consumption in homes; what measures will the water companies use to trace and rectify underground leakage on branch pipes; how do people use water, is the five minute shower an urban myth, and whether it is fair to accuse adolescent girls of causing water shortages in the south east.