Reclaimed Water Use for Irrigation on Texas Golf Courses
Abstract
Water is a valuable resource which becomes more precious as demand for fresh water
increases. With increasing urban populations and diminishing sources of fresh, potable water,
management practices must adapt to the new pressures on water resources. Texas is at a unique
time in our water management practices. We have the ability to be proactive in our water
management strategies to better conserve and protect our water resources before demand
outpaces availability. Wastewater reclamation and reuse is a strategy used to mitigate the
impacts of increased demand on fresh water resources. Potable water must meet high quality
standards, while other uses of water can be conducted at lower qualities. Irrigation of turfgrasses
on golf courses with treated wastewater effluent can reduce the demand on municipal water
resources serving the need of water conservation, but this has “both advantages and
disadvantages related to regulatory, agronomic, economic, and operational issues” (Huck,
Carrow, and Duncan 2000, 15). Through this research those regulatory, agronomic, economic,
and operational issues will be discussed and analyzed in the context of Texas golf courses.