Development Services Working Group Meeting - Drought, Housing & Reuse
Welcome & national risk framing (Fareita Udoh)
UK entering a cycle of drought, failed harvests, and flash flooding - mirroring Australia pre‑Millennium Drought.
Why Developer Services (housing) must now adopt commercial reuse models to protect future supply.
Today’s focus: How do we lift proven commercial reuse systems into UK housing at scale?
1. Australia’s Millennium Drought & Aquacell’s response (Hugh Fisher, Aquacell)
What the Millennium Drought changed in Australian water policy and development practice.
How Aquacell deployed building‑scale and precinct‑scale reuse systems across commercial and residential developments.
Lessons for the UK: dual plumbing, on‑site treatment, non‑potable networks, developer‑led reuse.
What the UK can adopt immediately.
2. Lessons from Commercial Water Reuse: Policy, Regulatory & Market Drivers - and What They Mean for Domestic Scale (Keir Lewis, Senior Policy Manager)
Regulatory landscape: Where commercial reuse is enabled; where domestic regulation lags; alignment opportunities.
Market signals: Rising water costs and scarcity; ESG pressures accelerating commercial uptake.
Domestic scaling: What commercial models can be lifted directly into housing - centralised reuse hubs, dual plumbing, shared non‑potable networks, estate‑level O&M.
3. Rainwater & greywater systems for UK commercial clients (Vibushan Thirukumar, Oru CEO and Co-founder & Matt Hull Stormsaver)
Case study: Oru Sutton
Specification, engagement and challenges.
Any community Learning?
4. A short reflection on DEFRA’s position on reuse, and how regulatory reform could support developer‑scale adoption. (Katie Smith, Head of Water Efficiency and Demand Management)
4. Close & next steps (Fareita Udoh)
Today strengthens our Open Letter to Government.
Clear asks become clearer. The session reinforces our calls for:
reuse requirements in new developments
alignment of commercial and domestic regulation
accelerated planning for non‑potable networks
Next milestone: Networks November Water Infrastructure Industrialisation Session.
We will present the strengthened Open Letter and seek wider industry endorsement