Major policy progress for rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling in the UK

By Stormsaver

2026 has been a landmark year for unlocking the barriers to water reuse in the UK.

Firstly, in March of this year, we had the influential Drinking Water Inspectorate Governance Framework for Rainwater and Greywater Recycling Systems published. This framework outlined 10 key recommendations which need to be delivered to ensure effective regulation of reuse systems.

Recommendations included a call for minimum water quality standards, a new maintenance standard and the upskilling of the plumbing community to minimise the risk of cross contamination into the drinking water supply.

Following this, in the Summer, we also saw the publication of Policy Connect’s Bricks and Water report which called for rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling to be included as standard in Part G of the Building Regulations 2010 and recommended that a PAS (Publicly Available Specification) on water reuse be published.

These two reports answered what effective policy and regulation could look like in the UK.

Subsequently, Minister Emma Hardy responded to a parliamentary question by Lee Pitcher MP which stated that the Part GConsultation Response, expected imminently, will include a plan for rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling in all new homes over the next 10 years. This is fantastic news for water reuse in the UK.

Stormsaver have been working hard to ensure that MPs and DEFRA Policy Makers have the necessary evidence and data they need, and have also supported site visits to numerous of our large-scale rainwater harvesting systems installed on customer sites.

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