Water-saving home win for Swindon Town

Swindon Town Football Club is set to save millions of litres of water a year following a visit by a team of Thames Water engineers.

The water company says five water efficiency experts and plumbers recently installed free water saving devices in the County Ground’s bathrooms and dressing rooms, including those used by players and fans.

A total of 61 urinals which were using 200,000 litres of water a day were altered to automatically flush four times an hour, rather than 15, and only when a motion sensor detects they’ve been used. 

This means no more unnecessary flushes overnight or when the stadium is empty, giving an estimated saving of 60 million litres a year – the equivalent of 24 Olympic swimming pools.

The ground’s 53 toilets were fitted with devices to save more than two pints of water every time they’re flushed, and three leaky loos, which were each losing the same as an average family’s daily use of around 400 litres, were also plugged. All the water saving goals will benefit the environment and see the club save money on its water and energy bills.

Andrew Tucker, Thames Water’s water efficiency manager, said: “It’s brilliant that Swindon Town is leading the way in becoming more water efficient so more can be left in rivers and underground aquifers to support wildlife and protect supplies for future generations. 

"It’s a great result to have helped them ahead of an exciting time when a limited number of fans can hopefully soon return to the County Ground.

“All businesses, whether an office, pub or sports ground, have loos and urinals, and our research shows a third have leaks, while about five per cent of all households have leaky loos too.

“Supporters and the rest of the town can all also do their bit by checking for leaks in their own homes and getting them fixed, while we carry on repairing more than 1,000 a week on our vast network of pipes.” 

Will Fowler from Swindon Town FC said: “Swindon Town are pleased to announce the installation of water saving systems at the County Ground. 

"Water efficiency is something that everyone needs to be aware of and it’s great that we have taken a forward step in saving water. This is an exciting time for the club, with a limited number of fans being granted access to matches, and we are glad to be working with Thames Water at this time.”

Thames Water carries out water efficiency visits to fix leaks and fit water saving gadgets for key businesses across its region to help them reduce their water use. 

Last year, the company carried out around 4,000 visits leading to more than 2,000 litres of water being saved per business, per day. 

As well as working with Swindon Town, the company has carried out water audits at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and The Valley, home to Charlton Athletic, and are due to visit Swindon rivals Oxford United in the coming months.