A preliminary sustainability assessment of innovative rainwater harvesting for residential properties in the UK

Melville-Shreeve, Peter; Ward, Sarah; Butler, David

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1003-7985.2014.02.001

Authors

Peter Melville-Shreeve

Sarah Ward

David Butler

Abstract

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has yet to see significant uptake in UK households, primarily due to a lack of innovation in residential RWH system types. This paper presents the results of preliminary investigations into a range of traditional and innovative residential-scale RWH systems. These systems are examined using a patent application search, informal interviews with industry professionals, cost-benefit analysis and a simple multi criteria analysis (MCA). The latter examines the sustainability of the systems, based on a priori social, economic and environmental criteria. Two of the innovative systems are subject to a more detailed analysis and benchmarked against a traditional system. Results of the MCA indicate that the innovative RWH systems achieve better sustainability scores than the traditional RWH with a lower capital cost. Further research is focused on monitoring the identified systems to generate empirical datasets, in order to undertake the WLC/LCAs and to identify challenges associated with installation. © Copyright.

Citation

Melville-Shreeve, P., Ward, S., & Butler, D. (2014). A preliminary sustainability assessment of innovative rainwater harvesting for residential properties in the UK. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1003-7985.2014.02.001

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jun 6, 2019
Online Publication Date	Aug 9, 2014
Publication Date	Jan 1, 2014
Journal	Journal of Southeast University (English Edition)
Print ISSN	1003-7985
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	30
Issue	2
Pages	135-142
DOI	https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1003-7985.2014.02.001
Keywords	innovation, multi criteria analysis, rainwater harvesting, residential, sustainability, water efficiency
Public URL	https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/815829
Publisher URL	http://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1003-7985.2014.02.001