Supporting Crompton Bowling Club to save money on their water bills
Over the past few years, Groundwork have been commissioned by United Utilities to survey schools, leisure centres and community buildings to check whether they’re using more water than needed, and providing a helping hand if so. If any leaks or inefficient water outlets are identified and the water efficiency team will fix issues free of charge, usually on the same day. Every litre of water saved helps to reduce the threat of water scarcity that we’re facing. By fixing small leaks and installing water saving devices, we can help to conserve this vital resource.
In July 2025, our team contacted Crompton Bowling Club to offer a free water saving visit. Chris Richards, the Chairman, agreed to a visit and was open to any water savings that could be made. During the visit, we found that a urinal they had was uncontrolled. We could hear water running to it continuously, causing it to flush frequently. Chris explained that the bowling club wasn’t open for many hours during the week, especially in the winter months.
Our team were able to install a sensor on the urinal which meant that a valve would open when the urinal was in use to let water through and then close after, thus saving a significant amount of water:
“When the building is closed, the urinal still fills up and flushes several times, which was wasting a lot of water! The sensor must be saving us some money. It’s fantastic that this is a free service. As a team of volunteers, we wouldn’t have been able to afford it.”
The average urinal control will save approximately 1056 litres of water per day. Reducing the units of water used daily can lead to lower water bills. Chris has asked the club treasurer to monitor water bills over the coming months to see just how beneficial the visit has been.
During the booking process, Chris also asked us about any opportunities for rainwater harvesting, as they use mains water to water their bowling green in the summer months. We looked at the outside areas, taking photos of possible locations for a water butt. In November 2025, our team attended the site to install a free water butt. Chris was delighted with the installation and the advice given during the visit:
“We’ve always used a hosepipe connected to the mains water to water the bowling green in summer. We will definitely be able to reuse the rain water collected for our outside activities. It’s a great help! All of the Groundwork team were friendly and efficient and I would recommend having one of these visits.
Watering a garden with a hose pipe for 5 minutes will use around 45 litres of water. By using rainwater from the water butt, the club will reduce the demand for mains water, lowering their daily usage.
A big thank you to Chris and Crompton Bowling Club for getting involved in this initiative and playing a part in reducing water use.