We recognise the risks of water pollution and associated breaches of environmental legislation.

Water is essential to maintain life as we know it. It is essential in our diet, in the production of food, in providing clean places to live and work and in providing areas of recreation and beauty.

Water is a vital natural resource and we aim to protect it by ensuring that business activities do not cause detrimental impacts. For example;

	Water consumption in the UK has risen by 70% in the last 30 years
	– We can design buildings which minimise the use of water
	65% of water is flushed down the toilet
	– We can install low flush toilets and waterless urinals
	The Environment Agency stated that the construction industry is responsible for 600 water pollution incidents per year
	–   We store materials appropriately to reduce potential for spillage and leaks

Pollution of any part of the water cycle (see diagram above) will have detrimental effects throughout the cycle. The areas in which our activities may cause pollution are;

	Silt entering a water course
	Spillage of toxic materials including oils during delivery, storage and use
	Cement and concrete washout effluent entering a watercourse
	Spillage of sewage

Our potential to cause pollution is increased when we are;

	Working near or in a watercourse
	Working on areas of stripped land
	Undertaking de-watering and over-pumping

During 2000 and 2001 we monitored water consumption at our Head Office. The graph below indicates that in Derwent House and Peal House we actively reduced the amount of water consumed. However, Birch Street water consumption increased. This may be because Birch Street is the main office and therefore receives more visitors and additional staff have been relocated to this building following the restructuring process and the closure of several offices.

It is inherently difficult to measure water consumption on projects. This is due to many factors, for example:

	Clients often control and pay for water on projects
	Effective sub metering is often impractical
	Different activities utilise different amounts of water and occur at different periods in the construction programme.

Therefore, the Princess Margaret Hospital Contract opted to reduce an element of the water consumption on the project that it could control – water used in toilets. The project installed cistermisers and hippos to reduce the amount of water used and the following table highlights the savings.

Conversions used:
Gallons to litres = x 4.46
Litres to m³ = divide by 1000 (1 litre of water =1kg, 1 tonne of water = 1m³)

Through our design and facilities management activities we have the potential to greatly reduce the amount of water consumed on projects and in buildings. For example, Carillion Infrastructure Management utilised 12million litres of seawater for hydrostatic testing, thus preventing the need for using potable water.

Please refer to the following case studies;

	Upgrade of the A74 in Scotland
	GTRM Hydraulic Oil Spillage’s
	North Staffordshire Acute Psychiatric Unit
	Belfry Golf Course
	Princess Margaret Hospital