Inadequate water intake is associated with reduced feed intake, poor daily gain, poor feed conversion, scour problems and lower digestibility of feed in pigs (Thacker, 2001). Factors that can reduce water intake include contamination, high mineral content of water, low temperature, low flow rate from drinker, too few drinkers or poor drinker/nipple position (Thacker, 2001). However, there is a lack of information on the effect of drinker design on water intake and performance. Three designs of drinker commonly used are 1) nipple drinkers, 2) bite drinkers and 3) bowl drinkers. Bite drinkers are reported to be less wasteful than nipple drinkers, especially for newly weaned pigs and bowl drinkers are reported to result in less water wastage due to the water being retained in the bowl (Philips and Philips 1999). A reduction in water usage may reduce the volume of slurry produced and is worth further investigation, especially in the light of storage and land spreading restrictions imposed on pig producers by the Nitrates Directive. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of drinker design and position on performance and water usage of growing pigs.