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Water Conservation

Terravita Agronomy

I just finished submitting our water conservation plan to the Arizona Department of Water Resources and I thought it would be helpful if I shared a synopsis of what our conservation plan looks like in addition to the restraints and regulations we have from the state. 


Our water comes from the Scottsdale Water Campus (located just north of the 101 on Pima Road) and the RWDS Pipeline. This pipeline services almost every club north of the 101 on Pima and Scottsdale road. This water blend is made up of approximately 66.6% reclaimed and 33.3% Colorado River Water from the CAP. Because we utilize 66% reclaimed water, our state allotment is much higher than a club using 100% CAP water or groundwater. Obviously this comes as a benefit, but there are shortfalls with reclaimed water. 1, there needs to be enough sewage throughout the year to process and send back up to to the courses who need it and 2, this water is much higher in salinity and pH than CAP and ground water. Both are issues we are able to overcome, but there certainly are pros and cons to any water source. 


Each year, in March, we submit an annual water report. This shows the state that we are operating within our allotment, and documents any turf acreage changes that might have been made throughout the course of the year. Fortunately year over year we continue to be below our state allotment. In fact in 2023, we used 41,402,814 gallons less than our allotment. Pretty good. In addition to that, a portion of that remaining balance rolls over year over year in a flex account, so in the event of further water cuts, or extreme temperatures, we will have a sizable flex account at our disposal. 

Today I submitted our 2024 water conservation plan. This is something that the state began requiring about 2 years ago when the 5th management plan was adopted. It’s something that we have always had internally, but the ADWR now requires it on an official level. In the long run, this data should prove to law makers that golf courses, generally, are exceptionally conservative when it comes to water resources. Playability is the most important part of our duties, and managing irrigation is the number #1 aspect of producing a highly playable golf course. 


Our water conservation plan includes at least 1 full course audit per year. This ensures the data in the central irrigation control computer matches what is actually happening in the field. This includes the degree of arc a irrigation head is adjusted to, the nozzle color, the uniformity of throw, and the time it takes to make a full, or partial, rotation. We have 2500 heads, so as you can imagine this is a quite laborious process, but undeniably the most important thing we do during the year. Next we take daily moisture readings, either with a soil probe, or visually to determine which areas of the golf course are dry, wet, or in between. This allows us to adjust certain irrigation heads to run more or less, depending on what the readings show. Lastly, we confirm the theoretical water usage date from the central irrigation control, to the actual water use data at the pump station. If your audits are performed properly and routinely, these numbers should be almost identical. If the actual number is higher than the theoretical, and your data is confirmed to be correct; it would indicate a leak somewhere in the system. In which case there is a process to determine where the leak is. Lastly we inject different products into our irrigation water at the pump station. These products help with water’s soil penetration, improve consistency of water holding through the course, and lower pH; all things that help the conservation AND playability effort. 


There is a lot that goes into water management on a golf course, but I think our team here at Terravita does an excellent job at water conservation, fiscal responsibility, and most importantly, course playability. 

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