Water Neutrality – Bidwell Water Savers

Water Neutrality aims to ensure the water usage on site can be the same as before the new homes were built. This means Bidwell West won’t be taking any extra water from local reserves than before it was built. And you’ll be helping to look after our water sources for generations to come.

This will be achieved by ensuring that for every new development, water demand should first be minimised then any remaining water demand “offset” by water savings.

In the South East, we actually get less rain each year than East Sudan or Melbourne, Australia. If we don’t change how much water we use now, in the future, we’ll have to take more from the environment – damaging our local water sources and countryside – Houghton Regis’s woods, fields and rivers, and Bidwell West’s own Ouzel Brook.

Working with Affinity Water and funding from Ofwat and Nesta, we’re leading an innovation project called “Water Neutrality”.

We have put together a campaign called ‘Bidwell Water Savers’, which is a water-saving project designed specifically for your neighbourhood. Even more exciting, it’s the first of its kind in the whole world!

To become a Water Saver, all you’ll need to do is pick one easy pledge, for example using the eco cycle on your washing machine. By working together as a community, everyone’s small change will add up to a big difference.

We are also working with local businesses and organisations to reduce water usage, to make up for what your households still ned to use – this is called ‘offsetting’.

Working with both residents and businesses, Bidwell West should not be using any more water than before your homes were built. Bidwell West will have no impact on Houghton Regis’s water reserves, and you will be the proud residents of the world’s first ever water-neutral housing development.

What we learn in Bidwell will be used to create a national blueprint for achieving water neutrality, leading to new legislation for developers, water companies and local government.