The average golf course uses 312 gallons of water per day for maintenance of the grounds. As this water flows through the property, it can pick up contaminants such as petroleum, pesticides, and fertilizers. Over-irrigation and stormwater runoff can exacerbate this type of contamination, leading to pollution conditions on and off-site.
What are some golf course pollution scenarios?
All of these golf course pollution scenarios are highlighted further below. One exposure that is unique to golf courses is the storage and application of herbicides and pesticides which require proper certification of all employees engaged in applying these substances.
Why does runoff occur in urban areas?
As urban areas have continued to develop, the occurrence of runoff has risen. This is because many areas such as these contain little exposed soil. More specifically, the construction of buildings, parking lots, sidewalks, streets, and other impermeable surfaces prevent the soil below from absorbing any runoff.
Do golf courses use too many pesticides?
In fact, one course in Long Island, New York was found to use four to seven times the average amount of pesticides used in agriculture, on a pound per acre basis. These pesticides are not only a health danger to workers of golf courses or golfers, but to any nearby areas as well.
Why should I prevent my golf course from spilling?
Preventing the loss can be far less costly than the clean up cost and fines that may be incurred due to spills. The average golf course uses 312 gallons of water per day for maintenance of the grounds. As this water flows through the property, it can pick up contaminants such as petroleum, pesticides, and fertilizers.
Is golf course runoff point source pollution?
Regardless of the current state and quality of management and maintenance of golf courses, this land use has the potential to be a significant source of polluted runoff due to the proportion of land area involved, the intensity of its management and the quantity of chemicals used.
How do golf courses affect the environment?
But golf courses also have great opportunities to make a positive impact. They can provide wildlife sanctuaries, preserve natural areas in urban environments, support native plants and wildlife, protect water resources, rehabilitate degraded landscapes and promote environmentally-positive management to the public.
Does golf destroy the environment?
Courses dump often unregulated fertilisers and pesticides on their greenways to keep the grass looking unnaturally green. The fertilisers run off into bodies of water, causing a state of nutrient over-enrichment called eutrophication which results in algal blooms that destroy ecosystems.
Are golf courses a waste of water?
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. golf courses consume more than 2 billion gallons of water per day, and since one in every 17 of U.S. courses is located in arid and semi-arid California, our 921 courses consume a sizable chunk of that total daily.
Are golf courses a waste of land?
Golf courses account for more than 5.1 million acres of land worldwide. That land that could be used as wooded areas, farmland, animal habits, wetlands and countless other activities that are far more useful to society than golf. Golf courses use 13 trillion gallons of water every year.
Are golf courses a waste of space?
It's also true golf takes up more space than other recreational sports. Baseball, softball, soccer and football fields take up 1 to 3 acres2 each while basketball and tennis courts much less still (0.1 – 0.6 acres respectively). This is a far cry from the average amount of acreage needed for a golf course (140 acres).
Are golf courses environmentally friendly?
Further, “Golf courses provide green breathing spaces in a concrete landscape and the well-managed turf has many valuable service values — soil protection, water filtering, pollution fixation and biodiversity conservation.
What sport is worse for the environment?
The worst sports for the environment include skydiving (massive relative carbon footprint), golf (water consumption and chemicals needed), auto-racing and other motor-vehicle sports (absolute carbon emissions), and motorized water-sports (fuel consumption and biosphere interruption).
Are golf courses good for wildlife?
1) Golf Course Roughs And Trees Create Good Wildlife Habitat More than 70 percent of most golf courses are rough and non-play areas including natural grasses, trees and shrubs. Combined with the open areas of fairways and greens, the golf course is an attractive wildlife habitat.
Do golf courses use recycled water?
Nationwide, approximately 13% of golf courses use recycled water for irrigation. More facilities would gladly convert to using recycled water, but the main limitation is the lack of a piping system to deliver the recycled water to golf courses, which can cost $1 million per mile or more to install.
How much water do all the golf courses use?
In California, an average 18-hole golf course sprawls over 110 to 115 acres and conservatively uses almost 90 million gallons of water per year, enough to fill 136 Olympic-size swimming pools, said Mike Huck, a water management consultant who works with golf courses statewide.
Do golf courses use too much water?
Courses around the U.S. suck up around approximately 2.08 billion gallons of water per day for irrigation. That's about 130,000 gallons per day per course, according to the golf industry.
Who oversees the USGA's turfgrass and environmental research?
Many golf courses are near homes, and golf course managers want to be good neighbors, according to Michael P. Kenna, who oversees the USGA’s turfgrass and environmental research.
Does HTCC absorb more runoff than verticutting?
The researchers measured concentrations of five different pesticides in the runoff and found that HTCC absorbed more runoff than verticutting and was even superior to the combination of verticutting and HTCC, possibly because verticutting can compact the soil at points where the mower blades cut into it.
What causes water runoff in urban areas?
Instead, stormwater in more urban areas that lack proper stormwater management systems often causes water runoff. Water runs across parking lots, driveways, roads, and other types of pavement and into nearby bodies of water. This is less of a concern in more rural communities as the water has more opportunities to enter into ...
What is the cause of stormwater runoff?
June 11, 2020. Stormwater runoff is water from rain and melted snow that flows across the land. As stormwater runs through land, parking lots, roads, and driveways, it picks up contaminants such as dirt and bacteria. Eventually, the stormwater can flow into nearby bodies of water. This causes clean water to become dirty and polluted.
How does stormwater affect the water supply?
Stormwater runoff may also affect your water supply as it can contaminate your local public water source or well. In addition, stormwater runoff can affect homeowners by compromising the soil quality of their lawns. This can make it more difficult to keep the ideal curb appeal or plant and grow flowers and crops.
Why does a lack of stormwater runoff cause flooding?
The lack of a proper stormwater runoff system often leads to flooding. This is because the stormwater from different areas often flows in the same direction, making it more likely that all that stormwater will infiltrate a single body of water. If the stormwater runoff picks up contaminants along its journey, which it most often does, then the flooding can cause pollution issues. The more polluted the stormwater that contaminates a single area of land or body of water the higher the potential negative impact on the environment.
How does stormwater pollution affect the environment?
Pollution of local bodies of water is just one way in which stormwater runoff can pollute our environment. Stormwater runoff also contributes to erosion, flooding, sewage overflows, and poor air quality. Learning about the environmental effects of stormwater runoff is a first step in taking action to prevent it.
How does stormwater affect wildlife?
As mentioned, stormwater runoff can affect water quality for humans and wildlife alike, which can make the risk of illness much higher and even affect the population trends of wildlife. In fact, many types of freshwater fish are headed towards the path of extinction due to the decline in water quality.
Why is the sewer system overwhelmed?
Since water is not able to absorb into the ground properly in more urban communities that do not have a stormwater management system, it can lead to an excess of water entering the sewer system drain fields. This can cause the sewer system to become overwhelmed.
What causes eutrophication in golf courses?
Excess amounts of phosphorous can cause the ‘eutrophication ’ of a body of water, or water that has increased algal growth and reduced amounts of dissolved oxygen for fish. Nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients leaving a golf course are affected by the amount of seasonal rainfall or irrigation, fertilizer application timing and rate, ...
What is the importance of fertilizer on golf courses?
Golf course managers recognize the importance of keeping fertilizer nutrients on the golf course and preventing offsite movement into surface waters such as streams, reservoirs, and lakes. For the past decade, the USGA has supported research by the US. Department of Agriculture to examine the environmental impact of golf courses on surface ...
How does runoff affect the environment?
It’s important to address that even small amounts of runoff can affect the environment negatively. In addition to the environment, the frequency of stormwater runoff can be potentially dangerous for people and animals in the surrounding community.
Why does runoff rise in urban areas?
As urban areas have continued to develop, the occurrence of runoff has risen. This is because many areas such as these contain little exposed soil. More specifically, the construction of buildings, parking lots, sidewalks, streets, and other impermeable surfaces prevent the soil below from absorbing any runoff.
How does stormwater affect wildlife?
As stormwater runoff collects debris and pollutants from the surrounding area, it travels toward many animals’ natural habitats such as a lake or ocean. These substances are often toxic to wildlife and can lead to their death. Even minute amounts of substances can affect wildlife.
How does stormwater pollution affect people?
Specifically, damage from floods can be very expensive to clean up and can affect the financial well being of an area.
What are the negative effects of littering?
Any form of litter that ends up on the ground can lead to the negative effects associated with stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff often picks up pollution left behind by cars, construction, pets, dumping, spills, fertilization, and everyday citizens. In other words, many may be blissfully unaware that their actions are harmful.
Why do floods occur in the surrounding communities?
On the other hand, because man-made structures prevent stormwater from being absorbed by the soil and plants in an area, there can be a water shortage within the community as groundwater is not replenished.
What are the substances that can fall on the ground?
These substances may include: oil, metals, pesticides, bacteria, soil, soap, fertilizers, chemicals, or any other material you can imagine might fall on the ground. As these materials are picked up by stormwater runoff and carried through storm drains, ...