House builders urged to install eco lavatories
DEVELOPERS should install rainwater lavatories when building new homes to stop river pollution, campaigners have said.
The country’s ageing sewage system frequently overflows, making England’s rivers the dirtiest in Europe.
Campaigners said measures such as reusing rainfall to flush lavatories, which would reduce the volume of water going into sewers, would stop the system becoming overloaded.
They want tougher restrictions on developers, limiting their ability to connect new homes to sewers and requiring new homes to meet water efficiency standards.
Rainwater lavatories work by capturing rainfall and filtering it into a tank where it is kept at a suitable temperature to avoid bacteria. The water is then pumped through the plumbing system when it is flushed.
Although the waste water still ends up in the sewage system, less fluid passes through overall, reducing the likelihood of overflows and river pollution.
Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Rivers Trust, called for water sustainability measures to become compulsory in new housing developments, particularly in the water-stressed south east of the country.
He said grey water recycling systems and eco lavatories “would have huge benefits for the rest of society and for water bills, and the other costs that are heaped on society from pollution and restrictions on supply”.
Water firms can dump raw sewage in rivers and the sea when rain mixed with household sewage overloads the system – something which should only occur rarely but in practice happened 400,000 times last year.
It comes as figures show not one of England’s rivers passes pollution tests, with wildlife and swimmers both harmed by sewage releases and agricultural run-off.
The calls come ahead of the Government’s Planning Bill, which has faced criticism over proposals to build thousands of homes in the south of England.
A government spokesman said: “We are reviewing options for ensuring sustainable drainage is incorporated in future developments.”