Reflections, the largest holiday park group in NSW, is encouraging its guests to ‘go with the flow’ this summer and help it save water by reporting any leaks when staying in their parks.
The organisation, which is also a certified social enterprise, has been named as a Water Champion by Lismore-based Rous County Council for its commitment to water efficiency.
By installing water-saving shower fittings and digital water meters to monitor and detect water leakages, eight Reflections parks saved up to 8.9 million litres of water – the equivalent of almost four Olympic-sized swimming pools – in 2024.
Since June 2024, when Reflections installed data loggers on water meters in 25 of its parks, the organisation has saved more than 300,000L of water, significantly reducing the parks’ environmental footprint while lowering operational costs.
Making a difference
CEO Nick Baker said Reflections was working hard to reduce its environmental footprint in its parks, with measures including installing smart meters to monitor energy consumption, along with the water-saving initiatives.
‘What we would love at this peak time, when our parks are full in the holiday season, is for our guests and visitors to help us make a difference when it comes to saving water,’ Mr Baker said.
‘We encourage our guests, and those who may be using facilities on the community reserves we care for, to let our staff know if they spy a leaking tap or broken showerhead, because while these leaks seem small, they quickly add up to large amounts of water in a big organisation like ours.’
In response to the growing need for water conservation, Reflections installed 43 smart water meters in 25 of its 40 holiday parks. The meters measure water usage at short intervals and alert parks if there is a continuous flow of water over a 24-hour period, indicating a potential leak.
In a recent example of the meters’ effectiveness, an email alert was sent to the Park Manager at Reflections North Haven, on the mid-north coast, indicating a potential leak. When investigated, a hose was found running and was turned off, saving 4300L of water (about 480 standard buckets of water) that would have been wasted had it not been discovered.
Congratulations
Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said Reflections is a Crown land manager that operates 40 holiday parks and camping grounds and cares for 47 community reserves on Crown land, many with facilities including amenity blocks for public use.
‘I congratulate Reflections Holidays on implementing water saving initiatives at its Crown land holiday parks across the State to help conserve a precious resource and support the environment, which will be particularly important during periods of drought and water scarcity,’ Mr Kamper said.
Reflections says it reinvests profit back into its parks and reserves, and it has set a target to achieve B Corp status, which requires it to have high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.
The organisation has established a Revolving Sustainability Fund with an initial investment of $2.1 million towards sustainability programs. In FY24, about $650,000 in savings across electricity, gas and water in its parks will be reinvested in the RSF, which increases annually as more sustainability projects bring new cost savings.
Reflections has also installed more than 1000 solar panels and data-monitoring devices in its parks to monitor and reduce energy use.
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