Irrigation Consulting, Inc. was one of the first to in the U.S. to start working with reclaimed water. “There was almost nothing in the country at the time,” says Stacy Gardner, senior project manager. The company is all about sustainable irrigation, working with public parks and gardens, golf courses, college campuses, hospitals and other large projects, striving to conserve both water and energy.
“In almost every golf course situation, one of the biggest issues is the water source,” says Gardner, who serves as treasurer of the American Society of Irrigation Consultants. And considering restrictions on local water usage and a high price for potable water, many golf courses are turning to recycled water as a way to save money and ensure a steady water supply.
That has helped Irrigation Consulting stay active in the golf course industry. Despite the drop in golf course construction that came with the fall of the housing market, the company has been busy on the reconstruction side. “It’s just beginning to appear the market is making a comeback,” Gardner says. “Most of the work we’re doing at present is reconstruction – courses where systems have gotten old and they need to be redone.”
Follow the rules.
The cost of using potable water is extremely high, despite the discount given to courses for not using the municipal sewer system. So the savings are significant, but there is a whole host of rules and regulations involved. A buffer area is required between the irrigated areas and any adjacent homes, pipes or local waterways. All pipes must be purple and clearly marked as non-potable. Ponds must be lined so that the reclaimed water doesn’t sink into the soil. And any dispersal into wetland areas is prohibited.
In order to use the purple pipes on a golf course, a complete soil profile from a licensed soil tester is required, and a map of the course must be marked with areas that are approved for reclaimed water use. An agronomist must perform a usage analysis and a drawing with each and every sprinkler must be completed. Pipes must be placed a certain distance from sanitary and potable lines. There are even concerns about nearby waterways. “You’re not only looking at the town’s requirements, you’re looking at the state’s requirements,” Gardner says.
But in his experience, authorities are eager to work with his company since it’s a mutually beneficial partnership. Golf courses need more water than they can find, and developers or cities are looking to get rid of graywater without dumping it into the local waterways.
“A lot of people, just hearing all the requirements, get afraid of it but long term that’s what we’ll have to do. The potable water is just too precious,” Gardner says.
But with the proper care and diligence, reclaimed water can be a great way to lower costs and ensure a reliable water source. “When it’s all done, you feel great about it but there are a lot of things to think about,” Gardner says. “It proves to the community that the golf industry is willing to go the extra distance in infrastructure to not use potable water.”
Filling a need.
Part of the stimulus for recycled water use is cities’ need to find ways to dispose of reclaimed water, which is simply heavily treated waste or runoff water approved for irrigation use. “You’re basically in a partnership with a municipality to help them get rid of their excess treated water that the state won’t let them put into the stream,” Gardner says. “You need to find another means to disperse the water.”
The cost of water to golf courses in these cases is usually the utility cost of transferring the water, while the reclaim cost is pretty much on the supplier side. “They’ve got to find somewhere to get rid of this water and you just offered him 120 acres-plus to do the dispersal over,” Gardner says.
Particularly in the western parts of the country, golf courses are looking at reclaimed water as a way to avoid water charges but it’s also a matter of survival as there are regulations on how much water golf courses can take from local sources. “There’s definitely a cost benefit if you have to use some kind of municipal source for irrigation,” Gardner says. “People look at it when they can’t find other readily available sources. They don’t have a large enough area for rain runoff ponds or the ability to put wells in that yield enough water.”
Special considerations
Irrigating with reclaimed water involves a lot of planning before installation. Here are a few things irrigators and golf course superintendents should know before starting a project:
- Level of treatment: Make sure you know the level of treatment your water is receiving and request quality tests from the supplier on a regular basis. Knowing which chemicals are in the water will help superintendents mitigate and change their fertilization programs.
- In case of emergency: Have a backup plan to clean up reclaim water spillage on the course. Not only is it required by the state, it’s good to be prepared.
- Diversify your pipes: Don’t try to use a single irrigation system. If the water table or regulations change, it will be much easier to switch from reclaimed water to another source whether it’s well water, stream water or potable water.
- Take only what you need: Agree to take only as much reclaimed water as you can use, making sure that reclaim ponds on the course are large enough to fill in if the supplier runs into an issue with treatment and can’t supply water.