 Erik Christiansen |
As of late, much attention has been directed at golf and “sustainable” water consumption. Golf’s visibility seems to put it at the top of the list of water conservation concerns. But before we go the route of LEED (US Green Building Council) and drastically reduce water use, or worse yet, not water at all – eliminating valuable green space – let’s review what practices are already in place. What are we doing today to reduce our water use and still provide the economic and environmental benefits of golf? Currently, an irrigation design performed by a quality firm utilizing the best and most current technology will efficiently and effectively sustain a golf property using less water while improving playing conditions. These designs are backed up with sensor products that combine real-time moisture, temperature and salt content in the soils and ET information from weather stations, and deliver precise irrigation head-by-head as needed to any one point on a particular golf course. This information is so precise today that superintendents can micromanage different soils, turf cultivars, height of cut, slope and any other parameter one can think of to apply a very specific rate of water with unprecedented precision. This technology, coupled with sprinklers that deliver S.C. (schedule co-efficiency) rates of 1.1 (arguably more even distribution than rain), are the tools that superintendents today have at their disposal to assure they are using their most precious and important resource – water. Now consider this: A superintendent must preserve water resources, as there is no agronomic or economic benefit to a golf course manager who overwaters his site. Overwatering causes a gamut of difficult management issues that ultimately cost money and degrade playing conditions. So, what are the benefits of overwatering any course? None! Therefore, if a course has the tools to apply water efficiently and effectively it makes good economic and environmental sense to do so. If we want to be precise in targeting specific “brown zones” – meaning asserting more control over our water applications – then an irrigation system designed with more valves and sprinklers will provide that controlled precision over what is brown and what is green. So, when you do water, you’re watering with maximum efficiency. Let’s drill down some more and explore how we push our industry to become even more sustainable. One school of thought is that if we just reduce the amount of sprinklers on the course, we’ll use less water, right? Wrong! Because your sprinkler distribution uniformity has been compromised and control of your water application reduced, you are watering areas wholesale; and in some cases overwatering whole zones to keep small, stressed areas alive. This thought process does just the opposite of what’s intended – it wastes water. We recently finished a project in West Texas and increased the original sprinkler count by 500 sprinklers, but reduced the water consumption by 30-40 percent – that’s big! How can you increase sprinkler counts by almost one-third and show a major reduction in water consumption? Precise control of where and when the water is applied. As I have stated before, more (sprinklers) is less (water), and these are the tools that we need to move into a “sustainable” direction: more sprinklers; tied to in-ground moisture sensors; that put key watering decision data on the superintendent’s desk; in real time to enable staff to make more precise, accurate watering decisions. So, reducing sprinkler-head counts will not reduce water consumption, and in some cases will require more chemicals to treat undesirable weeds caused by a poor state of turf. Furthermore, clubs find themselves overseeding to keep areas healthy, and in some cases battling erosion issues due to lack of turfgrass. The next time someone says the new green is a “sustainable” brown, make sure they understand the commitment required to maintain a course on the edge. You must possess the irrigation resources to be able to micromanage your irrigation application. |
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