MANAGING WATER -
TODAY AND TOMORROW
Arizona Golf Industry
How much water do golf courses take from citizens?
None. First of all developers are required to supply with their permit package an assurance of meeting 100 year water supply for the course and community. Secondly, many courses utilize effluent / non-potable water for irrigating their courses. There are numerous examples in North Scottsdale where courses have freed up considerable potable supplies by negotiating and helping to pay for the Reclaimed Water Distribution System (RWDS) by switching over to effluent / non-potable water.
How much water do golf courses use?
In the Arizona Department of Water Resources' Third Management Period Plan for the Phoenix Active Management Area for the Years 2,000 to 2,010 it is stated that the total water demand in the PHX AMA for the latest reporting year was about 2.3 million acre feet. Of that demand, only 97,151 acre feet per year was on turf facilities, with golf courses being the largest component of that demand. Therefore, in the PHX AMA golf courses only use about 4.2% of the total water demand. The Phoenix AMA also has achieved "Safe Yield" with projected growth (through 2025), meaning that for every drop of ground water that is pumped the equivalent is being recharged into the aquifer.
Golf courses are efficient users of water.
Arizona golf courses are required by the Arizona Department of Water Resources to manage and report their use annually. The industry as a whole has been very proactive in water conservation having invested hundreds of millions of dollars on water saving measures, devices and products. Investments range from onsite weather management and tracking, new sprinklers and computerized control systems, new delivery systems with higher application efficiencies, to re-grassing with the latest turf grass cultivars that use less water and are more tolerant of salt. The industry has also supported and invested in research on drought tolerant species, "edge effect" and other research unique to Arizona golf courses in efforts to better manage our precious resources.
The sport of golf is big business in Arizona.
The residents of Arizona benefit from golf as a business due to its large economic impact; golf is a 1.5 billion dollar industry, thus reducing the tax burden on our residents. The annual revenues at golf facilities exceeded the cash receipts from farm marketing for dairy (173 million), cotton (233 million), and vegetable (258 million) producers in the state. In addition, the golf industry payroll exceeded that of many state retail and service industries. In review, the economic benefits associated with the average golf course are 36 full-time jobs and over $500,000 in wages and salaries. This does not include the indirect jobs created in retail, food and beverage, resort, construction, tourism etcetera.
Golf benefits those who don't play too.
Residents living on or near a golf course have the benefit of the cooling and cleansing effects of turf, as well as the environmental benefit of wildlife and walking/recreational facilities. Specifically:
- Turfgrass absorbs and filters rain and runoff water, recharging ground and surface water
- Turfgrass improves the soil and restores damaged areas - landfills, mining sites.
- Turfgrass improves air quality and moderates temperature
- Turfgrass reduces noise, glare and visual pollution.
MANAGING WATER -