“Golf course superintendents around the world know that it makes good sense to reduce water usage to be good environmental stewards and to help improve business profitability” says Rhett Evans, CEO for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
How do golf courses save water?
Today, golf course architects use innovative design concepts to help save water. Careful earth shaping and good drainage design is used to collect runoff and sub-surface drainage water in on-site storage lakes. Turfed areas and water-demanding landscape areas are held to a minimum, resulting in water savings of 50% or more.
How do you deal with stormwater pollution in golf courses?
Storage ponds to collect storm runoff water that might otherwise be lost and wasted. Use of tertiary treated effluent from municipal sewage treatment facilities. This recycled water provides moisture and nutrients to the golf course while helping the municipality avoid discharging the effluent water into nearby rivers.
How does irrigation work on a golf course?
Golf course sites with poor or inconsistent soils are capped with a 6-inch layer of sand to allow uniform water infiltration and a significant reduction in water use by reducing runoff and avoiding over-application of irrigation water. Numerous books related to golf course irrigation are available for practitioners.
Why is water conservation important?
Water conservation is extremely important as a large amount of water goes to waste every day. There Is only a limited amount of water on the earth, and with the amount we are wasting every day, this has a serious knock on effect on other elements in our world.
What would help save water on golf courses?
Experts' Top Five Ways to Conserve Water on Your Golf CourseDo an Irrigation Audit. ... Revisit Your Course's Cultural and Maintenance Practices. ... Use Soil Moisture Sensors. ... Plant Drought Tolerant Turf and/or Consider Turf Conversion. ... Explore Alternative Water Sources.
Why do golf courses need water?
Water use has a major influence on the playability of a golf course. Judicious water use that emphasizes firm, fast conditions is more enjoyable for all skill levels of golfers and is a goal that the USGA strongly supports.
How do golf courses conserve water?
And underground, there are giant cisterns that hold millions of gallons of runoff water from the course. "As it turns out, because our cistern system and the lake systems are so large, ever since the work was done, no stormwater has left the golf course, essentially," Tamaribuchi says.
How do golf courses affect water quality?
High-quality turf on golf courses is maintained with fertilizer, irrigation and pesticide inputs. As a result, they are perceived as significant contributors to water pollution.
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.
Do golf courses need a lot of water?
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.
How much water do golf courses use in the US?
Audubon International estimates that the average American course uses 312,000 gallons per day. In a place like Palm Springs, where 57 golf courses challenge the desert, each course eats up a million gallons a day.
Do golf courses use GREY water?
In fact, an increasing number of courses are using effluent water – often referred to as “gray water.” Government regulations and water availability have led to the increased use of gray water at golf facilities, says Brian Vinchesi, design engineer at Irrigation Consulting Inc., Pepperell, Mass.
How much water does a golf course in Palm Springs use?
about 1 million gallons a dayThe water district says that on average, each course uses about 1 million gallons a day.
How do golf courses affect the environment?
Environmentalists argue that golf course land is not only a waste of space, but also harbors harmful impacts to the earth and environment, such as pesticide use. This negative impact occurs by using large quantities of water and destroying habitats for wildlife species.
Are golf courses toxic?
Toxic Fairways People living near a golf course may be affected by sprays and dusts blown from the golf course onto their property and into their homes. Finally, pesticides applied to the turf may run off into surface waters or leach down to groundwater, which can then expose people to contaminated drinking water.
What water pollutants could originate from a golf course Farm subdivision Forest & Restaurant?
The pollutants that could originate from a golf course, subdivision and farmland are organic matter such as grass clippings, fertilizer runoff containing nitrogen and phosphorus, and animal waste.
Why do they put ponds on golf courses?
Many golf courses use their ponds as water retention devices that the irrigation system pulls from nightly. If it weren't for the ponds, the water bill of a single golf course could easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of 12 short months.
What is water on a golf course called?
The USGA defines "casual water" or "temporary water" as "any temporary accumulation of water on the course that is not in a water hazard and is visible before or after the player takes his or her stance.” In other words, "casual water" is water on the golf course that isn't meant to be there by design.
Why is efficient water use good?
1. The transportation, transfer and pumping of water is linked to energy consumption. Even if the water is free, there is a cost associated with every gallon of water that is pumped. As a result, efficient water use makes good economic sense.
What is a wildlife link?
Wildlife Links: Improving Golf's Environmental Game. Wildlife Links, established in 1995 through a joint venture of the USGA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, represents golf’s first comprehensive investigation of the game’s relationship with wildlife and its habitat.
How to conserve water in a golf course?
1. Do an Irrigation Audit. Before you undertake any water conservation efforts, do an audit of your course’s current water situation. Determine water use per acre and make sure your calculations are correct. Map your irrigation system, noting the efficiency and working order of every nozzle and valve. Adjust nozzles and water pressure as necessary, ...
How to help conserve water?
Using wetting agents or soil penetrants also helps ensure the water you are using will be readily absorbed into root systems. There are other simple steps you can take to help conservation efforts. Make sure your mower blades are sharp and reduce the height of the cut in the rough.
How much water does Huck save?
The savings amounted to half a million gallons of water per night.
What is smart water?
Being smart about water conservation means being aware of all water sources around you. Alternative sources to consider include wells, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams. Find out about recycled water opportunities in your area. For example, if sewer lines can be tapped into and skimmed, find out how you can do this and whether you can secure this resource for future use.
Why is it important to know the water needs of plants?
Though it may seem obvious, it’s important to know the water needs of your plants in order to understand how and where to prioritize water use. Once you know that, you can consider adjusting cultural practices to save water.
Is golf course water conservation?
Undoubtedly, no matter where your course is located, you and your team are working to conserve water. To help you get ahead, we’ve rounded up our golf course maintenance experts’ top five, tried and true, water conservation solutions
Do you need soil moisture sensors for golf course?
If you’re not already doing so, add soil moisture sensors to your golf course maintenance toolkit. Far more efficient and affordable than in the past, these sensors measure moisture content in turf and enable you to dial in irrigation efforts.
Why are there ponds on the golf course?
Due to minimal groundwater resources and a low base flow in the nearby river, the architect (Bill Love) designed a series of ponds and streams throughout the golf course to capture surface runoff during rain events and to recycle irrigation water. Rainfall provides the only source of water for irrigation. The ponds and streams are incorporated as strategic and aesthetic features for golf holes, but they also all flow into one large impoundment of over eight acres in the lower portion of the property, which is the source for irrigation water.
Who is looking at conservation efforts?
Golf course superintendents and greenskeepers aren’t the only ones looking at conservation efforts. Nowadays, these measures start at the planning and development stage.
How much water does a golf course use?
Golf courses use a great deal of water for irrigation and other purposes. A typical 150-acre golf course uses approximately 200 million gallons of water a year, enough to supply 1,800 residences with 300 GPD of water.
What is golf course water reuse?
Golf Course Water Reuse. Water reuse is a great option for golf course irrigation. According to the United States Golf Association, in 2014, 13% of U.S. golf courses were irrigating with recycled water. In Orange County, for example, as many as 60% of golf courses incorporated water reuse.
What are the benefits of desalinating water?
Benefits include lower leaching, a firm/fast course, significant water savings, and drastic cuts in gypsum, herbicide, and top-dressing requirements. Wastewater is less saline than seawater, considerably lowering the cost of desalination.
How to keep water free of algae and odor?
One of the best ways to keep water free of the algae and odor is having a robust aeration system. Active aeration improves water quality and helps prevent fish kills by degrading organic waste, reducing algae, and slowing accumulation of sediment. It also reduces odors and helps control mosquito populations.
Is golf a sustainable community?
In a 2020 article, The New York Times published recommendations for finding a sustainable golf community , advising home-seekers to consider among other factors, how much and when a golf community uses water and whether it uses recycled wastewater to irrigate.
Do golf courses have to use domestic water?
If the golf course is associated with a golf community or resort, domestic water use must also be taken into account. Golf course managers also have to maintain water features like ponds and water hazards, which are highly vulnerable to eutrophication and associated odors, algae, and toxicity.
Is recycled water better for the environment?
In Orange County, for example, as many as 60% of golf courses incorporated water reuse. Using recycled water is not only better for the environment, but it’s also cheaper than using potable water. However, water reuse can come with its own challenges. For one, many sources of wastewater are excessively saline and contain other contaminants, ...
