Turning rainwater into sustainability

The Headland Hotel near Newquay is a luxury, elegant and iconic 5* hotel and spa with uninterrupted sea views spanning Newquay and Fistral Beach.

Because of its unique headland location, it’s also home to the Surf Sanctuary – a surf school where both novices and the experienced can surf or paddleboard the Atlantic Ocean.

With sustainability at the core of the Headland’s values, they wanted to provide a surf school which could help them with their green credentials and reduce their carbon footprint. Source for Business identified a nearby underground water attenuation tank, collecting groundwater from the site. The tanks’ sole purpose is to capture and slow the release of groundwater into the public sewer to reduce the risk of sewer flooding. An innovative pilot, supported by funding from the business marker operator MOSL was devised to provide recycled water from the tank to wash wet suits and flush toilets. This novel approach to harness the water freely available in an attenuation tank by creating a smart rainwater management system fitted perfectly with the hotels sustainability ethos. 

Water is intercepted from the attenuation tank, filtered and pumped uphill to a new above-ground tank with 5000 litres storage capability which then feeds troughs and flushes toilets at the surf school. All pipework is hidden underground and pumps are housed in a plant room so as not to spoil the aesthetics of this historic site.