Superintendent's Forum

water. how are you facing the challenges of availability and quality?

J.D. Franz • Cottonwood Creek Golf Course • Waco, Texas

The critical issue for this 18-hole public course is water quality. The well water on the property has a sodium content of 250 parts-per-million.

“In my opinion,” superintendent J. D. Franz says, “the best bet is to start with good water instead of trying to treat bad water. We blend our water 50/50 with city-treated water and run calcium sulfate and occasionally sulfuric acid through our fertigation system. However, using treated water can get very expensive.” 

Franz is investigating ways to collect water at a site off the course and pump it back when necessary.

“We’re looking at acquiring nearby property to collect and store water,” he says. “We don’t want a huge lake on the course that would drain down to nothing due to irrigation, evapotranspiration and dry periods. The owners would want a consistent water level at all times, and that would be tough to do. If the lake were off-site in the woods the location wouldn’t matter. It could drain down and fill back up when it rained.”

Another reason to have a lake off-site is that a one-cubic-acre lake wouldn’t satisfy the demands of the course.

“In the fall, we overseed six or seven of our 176 acres,” Franz says. “The remainder of the year we irrigate 100 to 105 acres. In summer we consume a much larger amount than in winter. If we don’t have rain for a month, we’d need a pretty large lake. The collection area would need to be large enough to carry us for a couple of weeks. One or two cubic acres wouldn’t be worth the expense. It would have to be off the property; we don’t have the land here.”

 

Trent Inman  • Old Memorial • Tampa, Florida

Old Memorial is an 18-hole private course that opened in 1998. At the time it was one of the first courses using reclaimed water because no one else wanted it. However, as development in the area increased, all water sources became more and more in demand. The course has a well, but it is limited to emergency use. Most available groundwater is sold to surrounding counties.

“Our water contract expires in two years and we’ll definitely have availability challenges,” superintendent Trent Inman says. “The key is communication, and we’re trying to develop a good relationship with local county government officials. We’d like to have guarantees on how much water we can use.”

In the meantime, Old Memorial is looking for ways to minimize its water use. The course is outlined by native areas, and Inman is looking to refine the amount of water used by the irrigation system.

“We can possibly eliminate some sprinkler heads and change where the water is going in other places,” he says. “We’ve got about 400 heads around the perimeter of our turf and probably don’t need to be using all of them.  In other cases, maybe there’s a head with a 360-degree pattern where 180 degrees would be sufficient in that area.”

Inman is also trying to change the perception that golf courses are large water consumers.

“Of course,” he says, “if someone were to look at the total output of our irrigation system, it might seem like we use a lot of water, but we rarely use that amount. It’s frustrating when I’m driving home in a rainstorm and see sprinklers running at house after house. We’re one source that has the potential to use a large volume of water, but it’s a small amount compared to the total from all the developments and residences in the area. That’s an image we need to change.”

 

Bruce Burger • The Quarry Golf Club • San Antonio, Texas

Most of the water used by residents of San Antonio for drinking and irrigation comes from the enormous Edwards Aquifer. However, to conserve that resource the city instituted a recycled water program. Large-volume users like golf courses have converted to this source.

“The benefit to us,” superintendent Bruce Burger says, “is that we won’t face water restrictions anymore. Previously we were not allowed to irrigate between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., and if the aquifer dropped to certain levels, our water supply was reduced by a specified percentage.”

The quality of the recycled water is good.

“The salt content may be a little higher,” Burger says, “and there may be more algae in our lakes from the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the recycled water. But these are small issues and we’ll meet those challenges. I feel good about the changes.”