Southern Water helps Brighton and Hove Albion make their biggest save of the season

Brighton and Hove Albion fans are used to their team punishing leaky defences.

But now, with Southern Water’s help, the football club has been able to find and fix real leaks at their home stadium – helping the Seagulls save a staggering 41,000 litres of water every day.

Over the course of a year, this is equates to more than 14,000,000 litres, or five and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools.

This giant effort is part of Southern Water’s wider push to help reduce the amount of water used by businesses, by offering Water Audits to selected customers across the region.

The scheme is run in partnership with environmental charity Groundwork and looks for leaks, as well as opportunities to install water efficiency devices.

At the 32,000-seater American Express Stadium, skilled plumbing engineers carried out a survey checking all internal water systems in toilets, bathrooms and kitchen areas for leaks. Leaky appliances were then repaired and a range of water saving devices were fitted to help stop wastage and reduce water bills immediately.

The audit discovered 45 hidden leaks across the site’s toilets, taps and urinals, that were collectively wasting almost 34,000 litres of water daily.

Fixes were carried out on the leaky appliances, with water efficiency devices fitted to 38 toilets and 21 taps saving a further 7,143 litres of water. In total, this resulted in an estimated reduction in water use of 41,203 litres a day.

Tim McMahon, Southern Water’s Managing Director for Water, said:

“This is undoubtedly one of the biggest water audits we have ever done and represents a huge win for both the club and the environment. By saving water, we reduce the pressure on the network and mean there is more to go round and less pressure on natural water sources.

“However, we know we have to go further and faster in this area, and we are working hard to tackle leaks in our own network too and this is why we’re looking to invest £239m between 2025 and 2030 to locate and fix leaks and save water.”

Brighton and Hove Albion’s sustainability manager Thomas Harris said, “Brighton & Hove Albion are continually looking for ways to make better use of resources and reduce waste. Whilst the club has several water saving technologies in place already, the water audit carried out by Southern Water has demonstrated the savings that can be achieved through water audits aimed at fixing leaks and installing water saving devices.

“The audit was carried out with expertise and professionalism, and we look forward to working with Southern Water in the future to identify further savings at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre in Lancing.”

Southern Water is also keen to help businesses save water by supporting their water-saving ideas through our Business Partnership Fund  

To find out more about water audits visit our website and for further tips on how to save water click here.