Water Efficiency Strategies and Consumer Response

This assignment delves into the realm of water efficiency strategies, focusing on consumer responses and their effectiveness. It examines various research studies, governmental policies promoting water conservation, and innovative eco-feedback display technologies aimed at influencing user behavior. The analysis also explores the impact of public awareness campaigns and educational initiatives in fostering a culture of water efficiency.

Running Head: Environmental Management 1
Environmental Management for Sustainable Development

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Literature review..........................................................................................................................3
Context of the research................................................................................................................5
Motivation for the research..........................................................................................................5
Aims and objectives.....................................................................................................................7
Organization of project................................................................................................................7
Research Methodology....................................................................................................................8
Overview......................................................................................................................................8
Research design............................................................................................................................8
Data collection.............................................................................................................................9
Interview selection and development...........................................................................................9
Data collection phase.................................................................................................................10
Data analysis..............................................................................................................................11
Gantt chart.....................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
In current time, extreme weather, decrease annual rainfall and increase in the average
temperature are some factors affecting the level of water in the environment. There are various
challenges in terms of water efficiency in all over the world. Climate changes are likely to lead to
change the water patterns. It means there is less certainty over rainfall and river flows and floods
and droughts. Water is important for various activities i.e. producing more foods and for
agriculture and irrigation. Along with this, increased population also impact on water resources
as there is high level of demand for the water now and in the future. Water efficiency has an
important role in addressing the challenges related to scarcity of water. This is one of the tools
that can address both climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation. This can also be
related to improvement of climate and making the country more flexible to deal with droughts
and floods. Along with this, water efficiency can minimize the pressure on existing infrastructure
and set the need for new infrastructure. Further, it can be helpful in reducing energy and water
bills for households and businesses (Mulvihill & Harris, 2017).
Although most of the earth is covered with water but only 1% of water is actually
drinkable for people. It is observed that there is the shortage fresh water supply in many parts of
world. In case of drought, it is becoming more important to find the ways to conserve the water
and use it effectively. The process of water resource management basically focused on
developing the supply of water and expansion of treatment facilities. But, it is important to
understand the efficiently use of existing water resources. This report basically focuses on the
importance of water efficiency to deal with the issue related to water in UK. Report also analyzes
the strategies adopted by local council community i.e. Hertfordshire county council to encourage
water efficiency by its activities (Waterwise, 2016).
Literature review
Water scarcity and drought impact many parts of UK. According to the recent survey
done by European commission, there are 33 river basins in 13 Member States already affected by
the scarcity of water. Climate change and population growth are becoming the cause of water
problems in many regions. Along with this, climate change is expected to reduce the availability
of water for the irrigation and agriculture. Further, temperature and rainfall changes are also the

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cause of decline in the water level in UK. There is the significant economic impact of water
scarcity and droughts on the agriculture sector as there is the high demand of water for the
irrigation and generation of electricity due to cooling water requirements. People in the society
need for water for the agriculture and development, energy production and these processes
cannot function without water. Water most importantly can be used in energy production like
hydropower and cooling of water plants, agriculture, use in urban areas like buildings and
industry engaged with the public water supply system (Waterwise, 2017).
There can be various issues related to water in the environment like scarcity of water,
depletion of water resources on the surface as well as groundwater, pollution and quality of
water, water education and user participation, water pricing equity consideration in urban water
supply etc. It is observed that demand for basic infrastructure and services in UK cities have
increased because of growing population. It is calculated that the water scarcity is the key issue
of north-western state of UK. The continuous increase in population and administrative, financial
and technical deficiencies in the supply system of water have led to the descent in the water level
in UK. This has resulted in the increasing pressure on the underground water resources and this
is not a good sign. According to Araral (2010) in ‘Urban water demand management in ASEAN
countries: Challenges and Solutions’, societies are facing challenges in terms of managing water
demand while the population are raising and water scarcity is on its max. There is the need of
short term and long term solutions including tariff solutions, technical solutions, management
solutions, industrial solutions and community involvement etc. Further, there are various
Environmental drivers for encouraging water efficiency including some issues such as pollution
and decreasing waste water (United Nations 2014). These drivers may also include the use of
water to create energy such as hydropower schemes which may be encouraged through the use of
economic incentives such as tax relief. To deal with all these challenges and issues, there are
specific water efficiency policies for councils in UK with the National Planning Policy
Framework which has aim to adopt proactive strategies towards implementing the appropriate
water infrastructure for new housing developments. Along with this, the policies may include the
strategies related to increasing the levels of water which are required for various activities in
society. This water efficiency will become increasingly important if more houses are built to
address growing demand. However, sustainable building initiatives such as BREEAM and
LEED have assisted in improving sustainability in new buildings (Schwarz & Raslan, 2013).

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Context of the research
In September 2016, Waterwise in UK released its long term planning framework report
related to water resources. According to that report, country is facing longer, more frequent
drought and acute droughts. It is also estimated that there could be significant difference supply
and demand of water by the year 2040. Based on their research, it is observed that without proper
innovation and water efficiency, it is not possible to deal with water challenges in the country.
UK is facing water scarcity and if proper actions are not taken to deal this then there would be
impact on river flows and biodiversity, power shortage, food production and high stress on
environment. Despite of shortage of water in the country, there are not proper focus of
government and other organizations which are directly involved in using water resources. In
order to deal with the issues of water scarcity, water efficiency can be best possible way
(Construction Products Association, 2015).
Water efficiency basically focuses on ensuring maximum value of water by reducing
waste and effectively doing more with less use of water. Along with this, water conservation
focuses on efficiently use of water and doing activities with less water. So, being water efficient
is all about using minimum amount of water which is required to carry out specific tasks. By
enhancing water efficiency, less water will be wasted and the social, environmental and
economic value of the country will be maximized. Water efficiency basically has an important
role in promoting green economy, thriving environment and inclusive society. Rainwater
harvesting and water reuse has a strong role in the effective water management. In UK, there is
the need of generating water saving culture among the people of the country. This can be
achieved by the large scale of communication campaigns and the involvement of government,
water companies and other stakeholders. Along with this, there is also requirement of continuous
local communications, and reinforcement of messages (Jenkins & Pericli, 2014).
Motivation for the research
The rational for this study is to do research on the current best practices and frameworks
related to water efficiency undertaken by Hertfordshire Council in UK. Along with this, the
research also focuses on the businesses and national policies which are important for the water
efficiency practices are neglected by local councils. This research is conducted in UK and
focuses on the practices adopted by Hertfordshire council in the country.

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Reason for selecting Hertfordshire Council
For this research, Hertfordshire council is selected because of its appropriate location.
The council has its location in that area where is high water stress along with low level of
rainfall. Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) is operating with the affinity of water along with
Department for environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on various projects to enhance
water efficiency in order to incorporate water. The objective of the council is to make the
development as water efficient as possible with the help of incorporating technologies such as
Sustainable Drainage system. Council is also focused on changing behavior and encourages
people in the country to save water. For this manner, education, awareness and community
engagement is needed to enhance the opportunities for the water efficiency in the new
development. So, Hertfordshire county council is in the process of identifying various partners to
work on the project of water efficiency (Reese, Kasler & Sabalow, 2015).
The council is focused on developing various policies along with various stakeholders
like industry experts, society’s stakeholders and water companies in some areas. The council
should focus on some areas like water resource planning, environmental value of water and
demand of water in the society. People who are involved in the process of water efficiency need
to understand the issues related to water scarcity and have to share their responsibility towards
environment. Along with this, the council like Hertfordshire council needs to develop
institutional trust among individuals in the societies of UK (Goucher, 2008). By these
approaches, Hertfordshire council can be able to develop policies and strategies related to the
effort of water efficiency in the environment. So, there can be various stakeholders in the project
of water efficiency and those are as described in the figure (Hertfordshire, 2017).

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Aims and objectives
Key aim and objective of this research is to identify the practices and strategies of Local
Council Authorities (LCA) to enhance the water efficiencies in the country. Based on above
rational and context, the research objectives for this study are as follows:
 To analyze the role and importance of water efficiency,
 To assess the drivers of improving water efficiency,
 To understand the role stakeholders in water efficiency, and
 To minimize the barriers in improving water efficiency
Organization of project
The structure of this report is divided into four parts including research aim and objective
of this study.
Chapter one focuses on the research topic and information of background of the topic along
with discussion literature, objective and aim, rational of the project and organization of overall
project.
In Chapter two, the methodological tools and data collection methods along with the analysis
will be discussed. Along with this, discussion of various approaches and frameworks are done in
the project as well as justification of selecting the methodologies.

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Chapter three includes findings of the research and analysis of research. Further, Chapter four
includes recommendations and conclusion parts based on the result of overall research.
Research Methodology
Overview
This chapter basically focuses on the research methodologies along with research
methods which are used in this study so that the aims and objectives can be achieved effectively.
Research methodology can be defined as macro level framework including fundamental
thinking. Along with this, research methods can be described as micro-level techniques which
can be used for the analysis and data collection process. According to Saunders et al (2009),
research methodology is considered as the research approach, strategies and research
philosophies which can be sued in the research. On the other hand, research methods are the
methods of data collection techniques and statistical tests (Froehlich et al, 2012).
Research design
The method used in the research is quantitative research as it includes methodology and
design. The method of the study is based on the interview process. The rational for the selection
of participants, the whole procedure of interview, and storage and collection of data are
documented. This is a descriptive study that identifies and observes the role and importance of
water efficiency for the conservation of water in the society. It will also explore various ways to
enhance the strategies related to water efficiency for Hertfordshire county council and
investigates the effective ways to accomplish the goals and objectives of the project (Saunders,
Lewis, & Thornhill, 2012).
In the qualitative method, survey is done based on the interview process as it can provide
appropriate and suitable information on the importance of water efficiency in order to enhance
the social, environmental and economic value in the country. This method is chosen as this is
affordable and allows the questions to be completed that cannot be responded by the
questionnaire or other survey methods effectively. The survey is widely used to gather the useful
data to the specific set of questions in terms of effective use of water and reduce the negative
impact of water scarcity on the society. The telephone survey was not considered for this study

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because of the inconvenience of participants as they could not be available at that time (YIN,
2003).
Data collection
The data collection methods will include both qualitative as well as quantitative method
based on primary and secondary resources. For the research and study, Secondary sources will
include various frameworks i.e. industry data, number of water meters, water usage etc.
Organization Hertfordshire council has adopted some sustainability policies to monitor the stress
level of water. Primary data will be collected based on the interview process.
Basically, the method used for this study and research has aim to prepare research design,
data collection, instrumentation and identify methods of data analysis. The objective of this
research with the qualitative analysis is to explore effective use to rainfall water in various
operations like agriculture and power generation etc. Along with this, the follow-up is also taken
from the respondents. After the 14 days, one more follow-up will be taken from more
respondents with the interview process. Further, the discussion and result of the study is
described in the report.
Interview selection and development
For this research, qualitative method has been taken. Qualitative research can be
considered as common research that includes experimental methods and experimental statement.
Further, experimental statements can be defined as a described report of what is the case in “real
world” rather than what “ought” to be the case (Cohen 1980). After that, in 1994 Creswell gave
an important definition about qualitative method that qualitative research is a type of research
that describes phenomena by collecting numerical facts that are analyzed using scientifically
based methods.
There are some questions which are planned related to the subject in this research. This
interview will be helpful in research to find out the way by which the methods of water
efficiency will be implemented by the council. It will also be helpful to get the feedbacks of
people in the society. The interview process has open ended and close ended questions. The
interviews will be done with some set of individual to get their views and ideas towards
expanding the business (Energy saving trust, 2011).

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The interviews will be semi-structured which allow the organization to achieve the
objectives which will include open and close ended questions for respondents. The example of
the interview questions is given below:
Question Objective
What policies have been put in place to
encourage water efficiency?
To assess the drivers for encouraging water
efficiency
What difficulties do the council in
trying to improve water efficiency?
To evaluate the barriers towards encouraging
water efficiency
The interview process will take 30 to 40 minutes with each individual and the collected
data will be recorded in the form of video recording or written based. This interview session will
be conducted in Hertfordshire County Council.
Data collection phase
The data collection methods will include secondary research done on the knowledge of
stakeholders i.e. customers and employees which they have on water efficiency. The semi-
structured interview will require the ethical approval by the council before the using in the
interview process. According to the Marshall and Rossman (2006), the process of data collection
can be described as the process of gathering data for the further analysis and interpretation.
Further, Baxter and Jack (2008) stated that the use of various data to improve the relevance of
the study as the study might have some strengths and weakness and the data must be used to
achieve the objectives and goals of the study.

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Data analysis
The interview will be done in English language. In open questions, questions were asked
carefully and the most appropriate answers were sorted out. After it, the answers of each
respondent were compared with others. The aim of the first open question was to know that what
the people think about water conservation and efficiency and what could be done to save the
water. People want water in the proper way and this can be achieved by storing the water.
In their opinion, organizations should focus on the process of water efficiency in the country
(Energy saving trust, 2011).
In other open question, the aim was to know that will the people recommend about the
process of water efficiency. Most of the employees would like to recommend for the water
conservation. There are some positive responses also. By the open questions survey, it has been
analyzed that people are concerned about the shortage of water in the environment and seeking
for the way that water can be accessible anywhere. So, they want the process of water efficiency
in proper way.
Besides these replies, there are some replies related to the barriers and challenges while
implementing water efficiency. So, organization should focus on the elimination of those barriers
for effective water conservation. According to the respondents, organizations should make a
team of skilled members to deal with various issues and challenges in the water efficiency
process in a better way (Conway, 2015).
The other question was about suggestion for the organization related to strategies to
implement water efficiency process. As mentioned above that there should be more people to
give better service. Many respondents gave suggestions for joining more people to execute the
work. By analyzing above answers, it can be concluded that the main problem is lack of
initiatives and unavailability of proper knowledge about the usage of water in some areas.

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Because of unavailability of knowledge, people are not connected and unable to understand the
problem of water scarcity. If number of people will be less then they cannot be able to implement
the strategy of water efficiency to deal with the issue of water efficiency and sustain the
environment in effective manner. So, it is important for the water organizations and governments
to make people aware about the issues which can be raised due to the scarcity of water in the
environment as water is essential for almost every activity. Respondents also want to focus on
the improvements of social, environmental and economic values of the country. So, organization
must focus on the rainwater harvesting and water reuse has a strong role in the effective water
management. Organizations should focus on hiring more people to work in more areas to
enhance the level of water (Waterwise, 2009).
Feedback from the individuals plays an important role in implementing the strategies
related to water efficiency. So, it is necessary to conduct a survey and interview after some time
to manage the level of water effectively in the environment. In the interview session, people
were asked to give the suggestions for development of water level. Most of the people gave
suggestions to taking care of use of water so that water can be use in a limited way. It will be
helpful in dealing with the challenges while implementing the strategies to reuse the water in the
daily operations.
Conclusion
Gantt chart
Task Budget category 2018
Jan Fe
b
Marc
h
Ap
r
May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
1 Study and Data
gathering
1.1 Project
Administration
1.2 Review and

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collect data
2 Plan
Governance, and
integration
2.1 Evaluate and
Improve Pillar
Groups
2.2 Implement
Systems
Approach
2.3 Create Processes
that Foster
integration
3 Watershed
Setting
3.1 Review and
Update
Geography,
Population, and
Land Use Data
3.2 Define Basin
Population &
Socio-economics
3.3 Define Inter-
regional Work
4 Water Resource
Management
Strategies and
Integration
4.1 Identify
Implementation
of Water Use
Efficiency Pillar
4.2 Develop Tools to
Track Water
Quality
Monitoring
4.3 Identify
Implementation
Actions for Water
Recycling
4.4 Identify
Implementation
Actions Water /
Land Use

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Conclusion
The chapter provided detailed structure of the methodologies and methods adopted for
this research. It builds on Saunders et.al (2009) research onion process and discusses the suitable
strategies, methods and approaches chosen for the study. The next chapter will present the
research findings and results. Qualitative approach has been used to analyze and present the data
while quantitative methods have been used to present using statistical tools, such as graphs and
charts as shown in chapter three. Based on the above discussion, it is analyzed that UK is facing
water scarcity and if proper actions are not taken to deal this then there would be impact on river
flows and biodiversity, power shortage, food production and high stress on environment. So,
Hertfordshire council needs to develop institutional trust among individuals in the societies of
UK.

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References
Construction Products Association, (2015). water efficiency the contribution of construction
products. Retrieved on 28th November 2017 from
https://www.constructionproducts.org.uk/media/87904/water_efficiency_report.pdf
Conway, D., (2015). Invention and diffusion of water supply and water efficiency
technologies: insights from a global patent dataset. Retrieved on 28th November 2017
from http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Working-
Paper-196-Conway-et-al.pdf
Energy saving trust, (2011). Guidance on water and associated energy efficiency for the
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%2Fwww.energysavingtrust.org.uk%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffile
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Froehlich, J., Findlater, L., Ostergren, M., Ramanathan, S., Peterson, J., Wragg, I., Larson,
E., Fu,f. Bai, M., Patel, S.N. and Landay, J., (2012). The design and evaluation of
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Texas
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planning/water/preserving-our-water-resources/summary-of-existing-water-resources-
projects.pdf
Jenkins, J. & PERICLI, A. (2014). Understanding Consumer Response to Water Efficiency
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for drought savings. The Sacramento Bee.

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