Reducing water usage in health and fitness clubs

Virgin Active reduced water usage in its Western Cape branches by 62% through a R24 million investment in technological and behavioural interventions, including low-flow fixtures, greywater treatment, and the closure of high-use facilities. These measures resulted in monthly municipal savings of R1,243,496 and a total payback period of 20 months.

• Virgin Active achieved a 62% reduction in water usage across its Western Cape branches, bringing total monthly consumption to 7,652 kilolitres.
• The company invested R24,361,264 in water-saving interventions, which yielded monthly municipal savings of R1,243,496 and a payback period of 20 months.
• Specific interventions included installing low-flow shower heads, timers, and buckets, which reduced shower water use by 72%, and installing low-flow aerators and dual flush systems in bathrooms, reducing ablution facility water usage by 65%.
• Greywater treatment plants were deployed at all 30 Western Cape branches, providing a collective monthly yield capacity of 9,000 kilolitres.
• Other measures included using alternative water for pools to save 186 kilolitres per month across the Western Cape, closing spas and hot rooms, reducing pool backwashing, and implementing online water metering and audits.
• Virgin Active plans to further increase water savings by 71% by augmenting supply with groundwater treated via reverse osmosis units at four branches.

APA

Cassim, A., & Noble, W. (2019). Reducing water usage in health and fitness clubs. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/WATER-CS-VirginActive-WEB2-3.pdf

Chicago

Cassim, Adila, and Wesley Noble. Reducing water usage in health and fitness clubs. GreenCape, 2019. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/WATER-CS-VirginActive-WEB2-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cassim |first1=Adila |last2=Noble |first2=Wesley |title=Reducing water usage in health and fitness clubs |publisher=GreenCape |date=2019 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/WATER-CS-VirginActive-WEB2-3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cassim2019reducing, author = {Cassim, Adila and Noble, Wesley}, title = {{Reducing water usage in health and fitness clubs}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2019}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/WATER-CS-VirginActive-WEB2-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }