London’s Living Room, City Hall, Wednesday 2nd November 2011

SWIG is the Voice of Sustainable Water and believes that there has never been a better time to raise awareness of the role of water in a sustainable future.

The SWIG Awards were held from the panoramic viewpoint atop City Hall with the purpose of raising the profile and awareness of sustainable water use, publically recognising the nominees and winning projects. A warm welcoming address was given by Mr Kulveer Ranger, the Mayor’s Director of Environment. Awards were presented by leading industry personality and TV presenter, Dusty Gedge

Awards Culture
Awards for extraordinary projects combining the practical with the imaginative to deliver projects promoting sustainable water use.
From patios to palaces: Commercial, public and smaller/micro projects all have the same eligibility.

Awards Objectives
• To celebrate and promote good work
• To increase awareness of what can be achieved (with a little imagination and creativity)
• To inspire future projects and transformational change
• Demonstrate whole systems thinking and integration

Award Categories Winners
Residential retrofit Hill House. Edwardian 6 bedroom retrofit.Rainwater Harvesting and Grey Water recycling. By keeping as much water as possible within the site, discharge to the main sewer is minimised and the project qualifies for reduced charges for its waste water. Rainwater is harvested filtered and used for irrigation thus reducing reliance on potable water. Contact: Zac Ribak, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Non-residential 1. Paultons Theme Park, Pepper Pig World, Southampton. Green roof, Rainwater Harvesting and SUDS. Natural rain water is harvested into a lake at the rear of the building, none of the water enters the mains drainage system making it a SUDS. The Watermatic Sub Surface Drip Irrigation System uses this water to irrigate the roof and large grass bank around the pond with zero water discharge from the roof. The building was constructed from locally sourced wood from sustainable forests, highly insulated under floor heating and walls, an e-stack natural ventilation system using photovoltaic cells and a grass roof.Caroline Smith www.paultonspark.co.uk
2. Cardiff Bus Depot. Rainfall is collected from an area of the depot’s roof for use in washing the bus fleet. It is cleaned using filtration and U-V disinfection to ensure no risk to employee health from airborne water particles created by the bus washes. Contact: Derek Hunt, Rainharvesting Systems Ltd 01452 772000
Behaviour Change 1. Be Water Aware / Hackney City Farm. Involves 10 local schools.
‘60 steps to 60%’ initiative to work with the local community show that small incremental steps can have a large overall impact on individuals and organisations. Contact: Cath Hassell 020 7729 2819, and Hackney City Farm 020 7729 631

2. AECB water standards. AECB the sustainable building association: can be used by all designers, in both domestic and non-domestic buildings, to optimise the water and energy use of that building.
Contact: Fran Bradshaw 0845 4569773

Open space & agriculture 1.Fruit Grower: T.W.Busby, Dearnsdale Farm. Stafford.
Maximising irrigation efficiency and minimising fertiliser use, with minimal or no pollution to the environmentnt using The Auto-Agronom, a revolutionary water management system combining good science with advanced field techniques. Contact Tomer Kniznik, TK Solutions AG Ltd.

2. The Epping Golf Course. Management and storage of rainwater to irrigate the course providing attractive, wildlife friendly ponds at low cost.
Contact Neil Sjoberg, Proprietor, 07909635549

Products - Products that are a quantum development over existing products on the market
1. Drainwave Drain flushing device to help low water use installations. It collects waste water from buildings and combines this with water from the toilets to increase flush volume down sewage pipes. It is a patented adaptation of the flushing methods originally used by Victorian engineers to keep the main sewers clean. Contact: Martin O' Donnell, www.konserve.co.uk
2. Aquality - Eco Compac Domestic Rainwater Harvesting System. A very compact, easy to instal and energy efficient, complete system aimed the domestic housing market.
Contact: Lutz Johnen, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Judging Team:
Cath Hassell, ech2o consultants ltd
Armando Raish, Treebox Ltd
Miranda Pennington, Metropolis Green
Lutz Johnen, Aquality Ltd
John Griggs, CIPHE
Zac Ribak, Watermatic Ltd

Expert Speaker: Dusty Gedge, Ecosystem Services and, Urban Biodiversity & Wildlife consultant, President at the European Federation of Green Roof Associations and TV presenter.

Awards Criteria
• Design and functions able to be replicated in some form, aspect and/or principles.
• Imaginative and creative making full use of water on and around the project
• Demonstrate ‘whole systems thinking’ and integration
• Hard and soft value for money measurements
o Hard: reduced operating costs for power, water use, sewage, treatment etc
o Soft: improved productivity and wellbeing, reduced sick leave etc
• ‘Patios to Palace’. Commercial, public and smaller/micro projects all have the same eligibility.
• Myth busting: e.g. “Environmental impact of buildings is often under estimated, while the perceived costs of green buildings are over estimated”
• Demonstrate value for money and return on investment
• Monetise the value of sustainability within whole life costing principles
• Pushing conceptual boundaries
• Overcoming planning/practical constraints in unusual ways
• Adventurous projects

SWIG Website: www.sustainablewater.org.uk
Enquiries: Chair; Neal Landsberg. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Tel: 01923 839988