Osprey Water Management News: 27th September 2006
Water Conservation Saves Leading Garden Centre Thousands Of Pounds Annually
Located within the beautiful Shropshire countryside is The Country Garden Plant Centre in Hadnall, a real gem of a find with over 1,000 varieties of roses to choose from.
Set within the grounds of the Black Birches House, which dates back to the 12th Century, it is run by proprietors John Jinks senior and his wife Mary; and is the largest supplier of roses in the UK. So renowned is the centre for its roses, that people travel from all over the UK to visit. Annually, the Country Garden Plant Centre sells between 35,000 to 40,000 roses, many via orders on the internet.
As the business has expanded, so to did the Centre's water usage, with an annual water bill close to £4,000 - a not inconsiderable sum. However, the couple have now brought this down to under £1,000 a year thanks to the introduction of a closed loop water system running in parallel with a 'bore-hole' top-up.
The Jinks' are, however, lucky to know one of the country's leading irrigation experts - non other than their son Jon Jinks junior, whose company Osprey Water Management in Wem, Shropshire has installed the system which has cut their water bill by three quarters.
So effective is the new irrigation system that it was featured on BBC Two's "Working Lunch" programme earlier in the year.
Jon Jinks commented: "The Centre is very lucky to have its own natural 'holding water' pond and this has enabled us to undertake the whole installation for less than £10,000. This means that in terms of resulting water economies the whole project will have paid for itself within three years."
"We put in a very effective drainage system spanning across the whole site, which discharges back into the holding pond. A treatment pump oxygenates the water within the pond keeping it clean. Any excess water used within the centre goes back into the drainage system and is recycled. Any 'top-up' water comes from the bore hole not the mains water supply".
"In my experience this is one of the most efficient garden centre irrigation systems I have come across, and much of the savings and benefits could be applied to many other garden centres across the country."
Last word from John Jinks senior: "Nobody likes throwing money away and rising water bills brought the subject of saving money on to the business agenda. From a purely commercial viewpoint the new system has been a great success and we are pleased that we are also doing our bit to help conserve water and the environment."