GAA President Jarlath BUrns pictured as rainwater harvested from the Croke Park roof is used to irrigate the pitch for the first time.
By John Harrington
Croke Park today began a water harvesting project that sees rainwater coming from the roof systems being filtered and collected in a significant underground tank which then feeds the main pitch irrigation tank.
The water-harvesting project is part of the stadium’s significant and ongoing sustainability drive.
Previously the pitch was irrigated with potable water but that’s not a sustainable approach on an ongoing basis.
The installation of a UV cleaning unit also means that if there was a boil notice in the city Croke Park could use the harvested water to keep its kitchens open.
“It’s about being more sustainable and there's a multi-faceted approach to it,” Croke Park Stadium Director, Peter McKenna, told GAA.ie.
“First and foremost, from a sustainability point of view, the right thing to do is to harvest as much rain-water as we can and we use it on the pitch.
“Rainwater is better for irrigating a pitch anyway. It doesn't have the chemical constitute that you get in potable water which is used for human consumption.
“The second part then is that we de-risk the operation of the stadium in time of water shortage or drought.
“The pitch is the centre-point. It's the reason we have Croke Park. Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that despite all of the big facilities we have throughout the country, people come to watch a game. So, the pitch is the most important asset we have.”