Irrigation

Sustainable irrigation can reap huge financial rewards — saving tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. With water prices rising and vulnerable to disruption, and other large-scale users seeking reasons to take a bigger share of the resource, golf courses need to demonstrate the responsible use of water. One course installed a tertiary water treatment plant that allows it to get 60 per cent of its irrigation water from recycled industrial and domestic sources at an expected savings of $70,000 a year — year after year.

Like many elements of golf development design, sustainable irrigation planning and design is a specialised subject that deserves the input of qualified, experienced and ideally, independent advisers. Mistakes and missed opportunities can prove to be very costly.

The first mistake commonly made is irrigating more area than necessary. This is closely linked with grassing plan design, which should minimize the footprint of the course that requires irrigation. Minimizing irrigation is particularly important in dry regions.

The cost of irrigation can be reduced by using gravity, such as by siting holding tanks and reservoirs to reduce the energy required for pumping. These decisions are closely linked with site hydrology. A golf course with a new water supply designed around gravity feeding cut the energy required to power its irrigation by 45 per cent.

On a more technical level, the irrigation expert needs to match water pressure with the valves to ensure the most efficient and effective application of water. Similarly, sprinkler head coverage should be located and targeted to provide an even application of water and avoid watering areas that don’t require it. Placing a lycimeter on a green helped one course test the water quality running through the putting-green root zone. This approach could also help gather evidence of fertilisers and pesticides traveling through the putting green and into the soil and water table.