Newport Salop RFU, Shropshire

Drought Mitigation

Intelligent rainwater harvesting for sustainable irrigation and climate resilience

Overview

Newport Salop Rugby Union Football Club wanted to improve the resilience of its playing surfaces during increasingly hot, dry summers while reducing reliance on mains and borehole water.

As part of the RSPAWIR project, SDS was asked to provide an intelligent rainwater harvesting system that could capture roof runoff, store it for irrigation and proactively manage storage capacity ahead of forecast rainfall.

What We Did

SDS supplied an Intellistorm® smart rainwater harvesting and management system, comprising eight 7,200-litre storage tanks and one 20,000-litre primary storage tank.

Due to the club’s complex multi-section roof, rainwater was captured from individual downpipes into smaller tanks positioned around the site before being transferred to the central storage tank. This avoided extensive groundworks while maximising rainwater capture within the site’s physical constraints.

Intellistorm® continuously monitors storage levels and local weather forecasts, automatically releasing water ahead of significant rainfall when required to create new capacity for incoming rain.

Results

The system provides a sustainable source of irrigation water for the club’s playing surfaces, reducing reliance on mains and borehole supplies while lowering operational costs.

By intelligently managing storage ahead of forecast rainfall, the system also helps reduce runoff during heavy storms and supports wider flood and water management objectives within the Strine catchment.

The project demonstrates how smart rainwater harvesting can improve drought resilience while helping to manage flood risk and support more sustainable water use.

Our water demand is high, especially during dry summers when the pitches need regular irrigation. The SDS Intellistorm® system helps us make the most of every drop of rain, reducing our reliance on mains and borehole water while ensuring we have water available when we need it. It’s a smart, sustainable solution that’s already making a real difference to the club.

– Gary James, Volunteer, Rugby Club