07/08/2025
Making a splash for sustainability
Michael Waters, left, and Dan Curtis with Flagship Services water bowser Tank Sinatra
When Frank Sinatra sang about having “a very good year”, he probably wasn't thinking about water bowsers. But Tank Sinatra - Bromford Flagship's 2,700-litre sustainability hero - is certainly having one.
The housing provider’s tree team introduced the bowser earlier this year after christening it Tank Sinatra in a staff poll. It's the latest tool in the team’s ongoing efforts to manage green spaces sustainably across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
Arboriculture Operations Manager Dan Curtis estimates that, since April, some 27,000 litres of rainwater have been recycled using the bowser.
Mr Curtis said: “It’s been such a brilliant start, and the results really speak for themselves in how this is helping us really increase the sustainability of what the tree team does.
“Using recycled water like this is hugely beneficial for us. For one, it minimises cost, but more importantly we’re looking after the green areas we manage in a much more environmentally friendly way.”
Every fortnight, Tank Sinatra gets topped up from SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Solution) ponds, intelligent drainage systems that collect rainwater and runoff from housing estates, preventing waste so the water can be re-used.
Arboriculture technician Michael Waters is the operative in charge of Tank Sinatra, and currently covers much of Flagship’s patch across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
Mr Waters said: “It’s lovely being out and about in our communities, seeing people and being able to help the nature in all these areas in a green, sustainable way - it’s so much more efficient than things like a traditional hosepipe.
“I did want to call it Michael Waters Jr, though.”
Watering cans are filled directly from the bowser, which is itself filled by recycling wastewater from housing developments
The bowser is one part of the housing provider’s expansive biodiversity plan, which includes aims to have meadows on most of its green space and manage 30% of its land for nature by 2030.
To stay up to date on Flagship’s green initiatives, follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and for more information on the biodiversity scheme, email biodiversity@flagship-housing.co.uk.
Arboriculture technician Michael Waters tends to a wildflower meadow and tree, using recycled water from the bowser