Water
Almost all of the water on Earth is seawater. Only 3% is fresh and most of this is locked in polar ice. So the actual amount of fresh water available to us is about 1%. That is all the water available for every human, land animal and plant to share. But since 1800, the human population has increased from 1 billion to nearly 8 billion. There is no new water in the watercycle. The water on Earth today is the same water used by the dinosaurs, cavemen, Romans through to Victorians and us. So how we recycle water is becoming increasingly important.
Harrogate’s Spa Heritage
Harrogate’s spa waters come from an aquifer below the earth’s surface, which rises up through faults in the Carboniferous rock. Harrogate’s development as a prosperous and flourishing spa town dates back to the discovery in 1571 of the first of many natural springs. The Victorians realised water from an underground aquifer is rich in minerals and believed to have health benefits, which resulted in the popular 18th century trend of ‘taking the waters’
Doing our Bit
We tap into our own natural aquifer through a borehole on the grounds. This water supplies the spa pools, irrigates the golf courses, gardens and supplies the hotel; reducing the burden on national water supplies and the power required to receive that water. We also have underground tanks for rainwater harvesting.
In just 3 years the borehole at Rudding Park has supplied:
- Over a million litres of water to our golf courses and gardens
- Over 2 million litres to the Spa
- 27,000 million litres of Omnia drinking water
Rudding Park bottled water, Omnia, also from our natural aquifer, is rich in natural minerals. Omnia water is used in our restaurants, staff areas and is available for sale. The Omnia glass bottles are recycled on the resort - washed, sterilised and re-used! A completely closed-loop on-site process which produces zero carbon and is good for you.
Our 18-hole golf course requires a vast amount of water to keep the grass alive and in a healthy condition. To provide 10,000m² of golf greens with 4mm of water requires 40,000 litres - a daily requirement in hot weather. We’ve invested in water management tools such as soil moisture meters, so we only water the areas that actually need it. This targeted approach has helped us reduce water use significantly.
Conserving Every Drop
Beyond our golf course and spa, we’ve put in place estate-wide measures to make water conservation part of everyday practice.
- Slow irrigation methods like seep hoses with timers deliver water straight to plant roots, operating for just minutes twice a day.
- Water bags around specimen trees release moisture gradually into the soil, ensuring deeper, more efficient hydration.
- Water bowsers filled from our borehole are used to maintain planting around the hotel, avoiding mains water use entirely.
- Rainwater harvesting from the Rooftop Spa is stored underground and reused via seep hoses to water flower beds.
- The Kitchen Garden collects rainwater from its glasshouse and polytunnel roofs and uses borehole water for produce — which is exempt from hosepipe restrictions.
- Hand watering with cans filled from taps is used sparingly and only where absolutely necessary.
We also mow the lawns to a slightly longer length (6cm), which helps conserve soil moisture and encourages wildflowers like clover, self-heal and daisy - all of which support local pollinators.
These efforts mean that, even in the event of a hosepipe ban, we can continue caring for the estate responsibly, following guidance from Yorkshire Water while keeping sustainability front and centre.
Watch This Space...
We’re constantly exploring new ways to reduce, recycle and reuse water across the estate and we look forward to sharing more innovations soon.