Evidence Base

hamed_masoumi evidence base waterwise global picture

The  Evidence  Base  for  Large-scale  Water  Efficiency  in  Homes  fulfils  one  of Waterwise’s seven original objectives. For four years Waterwise has been developing the evidence base. The  report  for  Phase I drew  on  evidence  from around 20 water efficiency  trials and projects  in domestic properties that had been undertaken by water companies  in  the UK; it was  published  in October 2008.  Phase II came to a conclusion in April 2011 and contributed to the body of evidence that has been built up in both homes and schools retrofitting. The programme is now moving into Phase III.

As part of Phase III of the Evidence Base Programme there have been several changes to the way Waterwise delivers the project. In addition to defining smaller, discrete projects that will be scoped and delivered on an annual basis, there will be more formal peer review built into the project. An important part of this peer review will be carried out by Water Company representatives, identified through the Water Efficiency Network, who have experience in areas which are relevant to the projects. The following projects will be carried out in this first year of Phase III:

  • Customer experience of home retrofit products
  • Improving recruitment in water efficiency programmes
  • Investigating the Impact of School Educational Programmes – A Scoping Study

Developing our understanding in these areas will be key to driving improvements in water efficiency project delivery as we approach the next round of price reviews and Water Resources Management Plans. Further projects have been and will be scoped by the Waterwise Research Team in Year 1, but will depend on additional funding being secured. Otherwise these new ideas for projects will be considered for Year 2. Among the other projects that have been scoped is one to update our understanding of sustainability of water savings, which will be carried out in Year 2 to enable time for more data to be collected from water efficiency trials which are still being monitored. The scoping document for Phase III can be found in our Resources section.

The latest Evidence Base Report - the final wrap up of Phase II - is also now available in our Resources section.

Documents

See here