Reducing water usage in health and fitness clubs

This case study details the water reduction strategies implemented by Virgin Active across its Western Cape branches in response to a severe regional drought. Through a R24 million investment in technological and behavioral interventions, the company reduced water usage by 62%.

• Virgin Active achieved a 62% reduction in water usage across its Western Cape branches, resulting in a current monthly usage of 7,652 kilolitres. This was accomplished through an investment of over R24 million in technological, behavioral, and process-related interventions, with a payback period of 20 months.
• The company targeted high-usage areas to achieve specific savings: showering water use was reduced by 72% via low flow shower heads, timers, and buckets; ablution facility water usage was reduced by 65% through dual flush systems and low flow aerators; and spas and hot rooms were closed entirely.
• Infrastructure investments included the installation of greywater treatment plants at all 30 Western Cape branches, providing a collective monthly yield capacity of 9,000 kilolitres. Additionally, the use of alternative water for pools saved 186 kilolitres per month across the region.
• Virgin Active plans to further increase water savings by 71% by augmenting its supply with groundwater treated via reverse osmosis units at four specific branches.
• The financial impact of the water saving measures includes monthly business water savings of 12,586 kilolitres and monthly municipal savings of R1,243,496, calculated based on City of Cape Town Level 6 tariffs.

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} }