July 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 59

plot over six months was reduced by
43 percent (from 28,911 gallons to
16,417 gallons) with a weather-based
irrigation system, and 62 percent
(down to 11,000 gallons) with moisture sensors.

provides both water efficiency and
operations benefits. "
Melchoir mentions Overland
Park's backup plan, which proved its
worth in 2012 during a particularly
rough drought. Approximately 3.5

Industry researchers estimate that turfgrass for
parks, golf courses, athletic ﬁelds and lawns
accounts for 1.9 to 2.2 percent of coverage in
the U.S. - making it the nation's single largest
irrigated " crop. "
" [Soil moisture sensors] allow us
to make science-based decisions and
adjust the controllable in light of the
uncontrollable, " Lonn adds.
Reclaiming Water
In some areas of the country, Lonn says
reclaimed water is the only irrigation
source available to golf courses and, in
other areas, it is becoming increasingly
utilized by golf courses and parks in
their efforts to be water efficient.
Doug Melchior, superintendent for
Overland Park Golf Course in Kansas, says his site has eliminated the
use of city-treated water and experienced significant cost savings in the
past 15 years by sourcing 100 percent
of its irrigation needs from retention
ponds. The system, a brainchild of
a forward-thinking former manager,
was put in place as part of a capital
improvement plan in 1997.
" It's probably one of the top five
things he did to make the golf course
successful, " Melchior says. " Water is very expensive in the Kansas
City metropolitan area. Many golf
courses spend $1,000 a day, and that
doesn't include electrical and pumping costs. [The system put in place]

miles from the golf course, a pump
station is buried in a creek bed close
to a sewage treatment plant. When

emergency situations occur, Overland Park Golf Course has the rights
to treat and then pump a certain
quantity of the recycled water to the
retention ponds.
" We set record numbers of gallons
of water pumped last year, " Melchior states. " Without that supplemental
irrigation supply, we would have had
to make decisions about what areas to
water and what areas to let go dormant
or die, and there would have been extra
costs to get them back up the next year.
Or, we would have had to consider purchasing water from the city. "
Less is More
According to Greg Lyman, environmental programs director for the
Golf Course Superintendents Asso-

Georgia Best Management
Practices in Water Efficiency
After a series of droughts in the early to mid-2000s, golf courses in Georgia
faced harsh water restrictions. In response, the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association (GGCSA), along with the University of Georgia and
Turf Ecosystems, LLC, worked to establish a set of formal best management
practices (BMPs) to increase water efficiency in golf courses and encourage
dialogue with regulators.
" We said, 'Can we work together to establish something that works?' "
states Anthony Williams, director of grounds for Stone Mountain Golf Club
and then GGCSA vice president. " We came to an agreement that if we could
get 75 percent of our member golf courses under a written BMP plan, the
state would come back and work with us on more reasonable drought restriction guidelines. "
After an intense amount of effort and collaboration - Williams says they
put a physical person at every town hall meeting about the droughts from
one end of the state to the other - the BMPs were launched in 2007 with a
97 percent participation rate, and GGCSA had a way to communicate accurate
golf course water-use information and techniques. " We were able to prove we
weren't wasting as much water as everyone would assume, " he adds.
Williams notes the water savings of 100 million gallons at Stone Mountain.
He also cites other benefits, such as an exemption provided to participants
on time-sequence restrictions during droughts.
The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America is now using the
BMP plan as a model to inspire golf course managers in other parts of the U.S.

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July 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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