Rainwater harvesting system hits mammoth milestone

The gigantic rainwater harvesting system underneath our elephant house has saved more than enough water to fill an Olympic swimming pool.

With a capacity of over 55,000 litres, the Stormsaver tank has collected 2,709,000 litres of water and is a huge part of our sustainability strategy. It was installed when we were building our multi-million-pound Project Elephant facility in 2017.  

Pipes collect rain from the roof and it is then filtered as it reaches the tank to ensure no large debris such as leaves settle and contaminate the water.

The saved water, which is the equivalent of over 602,000 toilet flushes, has been used to clean the indoor and outdoor areas, shower the elephants, power the sprinkler system and water cannons and fill the residents’ 225 square metre pool.

Darren Webster, Managing Director at Blackpool Zoo, said: “Sustainability is one of our core priorities and the rainwater harvesting tank has been a massive part of our ongoing efforts to reduce our carbon footprint.

“We get plenty of rain in Blackpool and, with six elephants to care for, we wanted to harness the power of the great British weather!

“Everyone was very excited when the tank was delivered and installed in 2017 and we have been reaping the rewards ever since.”

Project Elephant is our largest-ever investment and it underpins our commitment to the future of this magnificent species.

We are home to a herd of six Asian elephants including Kate, who was one of the first animals to arrive at here Blackpool Zoo when we opened over 50 years ago.

Resident bull, Emmett, moved from Whipsnade Zoo to Blackpool in 2019 when he joined Kate, as well as Minbu, Tara, Noorjahan and Esha, who came from Twycross Zoo in 2018.

An Olympic-sized swimming pool generally holds 2,500,000 litres of water. The calculation for toilet flushes is the rainwater reading (litres) x average flush volume (4.5 litres).