IMPACT OF ENERGY AND WATER USAGE ON THE ENVIRONMENT DURING CONSTRUCTION

Abstract

Construction activities cause a lot negative impacts to the environment. Construction consumes a significant amount of energy and water resources and, at the same time, generates a huge amount of waste and pollution. Due to various constraints of the construction projects, contractors sometimes compromise the importance of the environment for the timely completion of the projects within cost and good quality. As a result, they often overlook their excessive and uncontrolled consumption of energy and water, and hence, they are not aware of the extent of the impact that the usage of these two issues will cause to the environment. This dissertation sets out to explore the environmental impacts cause by the usage of energy and water during construction. It identifies the various sources and impact that the usage energy and water during construction will cause to the environment. A case study was carried out on a local contractor who has done much prestigious effort in its environmental awareness. This contractor can act as a role model for other industry players to follow. It was found that most of the contractors in Singapore are aware that their usage of energy and water during construction will has an adverse impact on the environment, and they have taken proactive measures to minimize/prevent this impact. However, the lack of suitable technology and time constraint of the project have hampered them to do more