Best Practice Advice for Clubs

Save Water - Save Money

Low cost measures

  • Check for and fix dripping taps and encourage users to report leaks and drips
  • Place a cistern displacement device in toilets to reduce water consumption. This could be a purpose made product such as a hippo, or homemade device such as a 1-litre plastic bottle filled with water. Water is saved each time the toilet is flushed. But do not use in low flush toilets (often installed after 2000)
  • Install toilets with a dual-flush facility, with instructions clearly marked. These use only 6 litres of water as opposed to 10 litres for the conventional toilet
  • Install urinals with flush controllers or waterless urinals (these can save around 65,000 litres of water a year per urinal)
  • Install tap aerators wherever possible (reducing amount of water used by up to 80%) and watersaver shower heads which typically halve flow rates while still providing a powerful shower
  • Install automatic shutoff taps or timing devices which will prevent water loss from people forgetting to turn the tap off. Likewise coin operated showers will also limit water usage
  • Install flow restrictors on taps which will limit the amount of water discharged when the tap is fully open
  • Fit plugs into basins to encourage users to fill the basin rather than use running water – captive plugs will prevent plugs disappearing
  • Cover water tanks to prevent evaporation
  • Install trigger devices on all hoses to provide automatic shut off
  • Install a rainwater collection device outside your club buildings so that the water collected can be used for boat wash down. Ordinary garden water butts will of course be too small, but you can purchase 1,000 litre Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) which will stack one on top of the other to give you potentially 2,000 litres of rainwater. Purchase these in black so the collected water does not discolour
  • Consider purchasing products which score well on the water efficiency product labelling scheme

Higher cost measures

  • Install rainwater harvesting systems to collect rainwater from roofs or large paved areas such as car parks. The collected water can then be used for toilet flushing or vehicle washing, boat wash down and watering plants
  • Reuse your grey water. Grey water recycling involves reusing wastewater from washroom basins and showers to flush toilets or water plants. In an office it will account for more than 35% of water use. Grey water from showers and hand basins is usually clean enough for flushing toilets with only basic disinfectant or microbiological treatment. Problems can arise, however, if the warm, nutrient rich grey water is stored, since it quickly deteriorates and bacteria multiply. This will also reduce the volume of sewage needing treatment. For those who pay for mains drainage, a reduction in sewerage charges may be negotiable with their sewerage authority

Find out more

Case Studies Parkstone Yacht Club
Recycling Waste and Reducing Water Use
Rain Water Harvesting
   
Useful Links
More Water Efficiency Tips

Water Efficiency Labelling
Advice for Clubs
Water Management Advice

Rain Water Harvesting
Recycled Rain Water Collectors

Water wise
The Environment Agency
Water Efficiency Label
RYA Clubs Handbook
Envirowise
British Marine Federation
British Standard BS8515
Smiths of The Dean

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