OSWBZ is an association that sets standards for sustainable construction in Poland, but also an organization that promotes solutions that increase the functionality and low-carbon emissions of buildings designed in Poland. In the opinion of many members of the association, water is the most underrated aspect of savings in newly constructed buildings. To date, most of the most popular “energy-saving” solutions have focused mainly on reducing electricity consumption, ignoring the role of other utilities. Meanwhile, water is the second most expensive medium in office buildings and represents a significant operating cost for both owners and tenants. At the same time, solutions such as gray water recycling or rainwater management are not only a significant reduction in operating costs, measurable benefits for the environment or the possibility of obtaining points for building certification, but often a real solution to design problems for the investor and the ability to adapt technical solutions to functions, cubature and number of employees in the facility.
Water recovery and new water law.
According to the OSWBZ association, the new water law adopted at the beginning of 2018 will impose significant fees on industrial and commercial customers for water collection and sewage disposal. At the same time, additional fees will be introduced for draining rainwater from hardened surfaces around buildings. The answer to these challenges is the management of used water coming from showers and washbasins, its purification and / or recovery of rainwater, provided for in the building design.
The experience of association members in water recovery.
In the course of the work of the OSWBZ association, its members including Skanska Property Poland, Cushman & amp; Wakefield, Go4Energy, Rewitech, Green Water Solutions and APA Wojciechowski shared their experiences, among others in the field of implementation, design and operation of similar systems. Skanska’s several years of experience in the use of gray water recycling and rainwater recovery, e.g. in Green Corner, Atrium 2 and the latest Generation Park buildings, shows that with early consideration in the project, these solutions are easy to implement, work flawlessly, allowing complete implementation purified gray water and rainwater for cisterns in toilets, as well as for watering greens or other sanitary activities. Importantly, the quality of the water in terms of e.g. transparency or smell does not differ from the water from the municipal connection. Cushman Property Management & amp; Wakefield also confirms that there are no major operating problems on buildings managed by their team and belonging to other investors. Representatives of Green Water Solutions, specializing in the implementation of similar systems, note, however, the growing interest in projects over the past several months, and investors who already use similar solutions include besides Skanska Property Poland also other, very strong players of almost all segments of the Polish real estate market, i.e. PKP, Dom Development, Thule Polska, Radisson Sas Zakopane, DHL, as well as many shopping centers, public facilities and logistics parks with a large roof area. According to Marcin Kłosowski from Green Water Solutions, at least several dozen buildings equipped with the latest technologies in the field of water recovery are currently being built in Poland. In his opinion, by specifying the parameters of water consumption in a building in detail, it is almost always possible to find suitable solutions with a payback period of less than 10 years. It is important, however, that the adaptation of the installation on the building side should be provided for at an early stage of the investment’s design.
Over the next year, Green Water Solutions is planning a series of meetings and educational workshops throughout Poland, aimed mainly at designers of plumbing installations and architects, but also increasing awareness of investors themselves. These trainings will take place with the support of the OSWBZ association, which in its further activities will take into account the subject of water management.
More information at: www.greenwatersolutions.pl