A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 6, 2008
2. Supply –
Golf courses try to play through drought
The
(08-05) 20:44 PDT -- Silence usually is sacrosanct on a golf tee. But on a recent sunny weekday afternoon, a mammoth drilling rig rumbled behind the fifth-hole tee box at Blackhawk Country Club's
As the drill made its way down to 1,000 feet, workers dumped soil samples into plastic baggies. The type of clay or granite indicated whether they were close to the mother lode: fresh water.
To keep their 36 holes of tees, fairways and greens, well, green, officials at Blackhawk in July drilled two exploratory wells to the tune of about $25,000 each.
"Not only didn't we find water, we didn't find any soil types with potential for water," said Geoff Foreman, chairman of the club's water committee and a member of the board. "We thought we picked the most likely spots on the property. When you look at 10 months of research ... it's not encouraging."
Amid the current drought, golf courses in the
And drastic cuts mean drastic measures. Farmers in
The state's 900 golf courses cover about 130,000 acres, employ about 160,000 workers and pump nearly $7 billion into the economy. They are trying to make better use of surface water - and drilling for underground supplies.
But environmentalists say keeping golf courses green shouldn't come at the expense of future water users.
"When you have a bunch of wells, it's like having a soda with a bunch of straws in it," said Jennifer Clary, policy analyst at Clean Water Action, a
Using what they have
At Blackhawk, officials haven't ruled out more drilling, but for now they are trying to squeeze every drop from their current water cache. First, they have turned off sprinklers in certain rough areas, allowing the grass to go brown. Next, they may treat water from wells previously abandoned because of high levels of boron - a naturally occurring chemical that is toxic to plants - or mix runoff collected from neighboring streets with clean water from the local utility. The goal is supplementing through other means the 30 percent reduction in utility water.
"We're optimistic we can achieve it," Foreman said. "But the economics keep changing. If we wanted to deepen a lake on the 18th hole, we'd have to steepen the sides or it would collapse. That's expensive."
It's hard to say how many of
The industry is well aware of its role as a water consumer. Statewide, golf courses soak up less than 1 percent of the total freshwater supply, but they are highly visible users who often face the most serious cutbacks during droughts.
In the wake of the severe 1970s drought that laid waste to many of
"Golf courses are twice as efficient as any residential user," said Bob Bouchier, executive director of the California Alliance for Golf. "The systems they use are much more sophisticated, and they're better educated than other users."
In the current drought, courses such as Blackhawk and the Moraga Country Club have turned to well drilling, a tactic often used by farmers desperate to water their crops.
Fiscal, environmental costs
Ivan Nahlik, who drilled the well at the Blackhawk club, has two rigs and another one on order from
But environmentalists say frantic well-drilling comes at a cost.
Because groundwater is a poorly monitored resource, there is little data showing exactly how much exists and who is pumping it out and at what rate. As a result, the state's aquifers - a sort of underground lake - can be permanently drained.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's controversial water bond proposal calls for billions of dollars for increasing water storage facilities in the state and for fixing the ailing Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. But little attention is paid to groundwater.
"The funny thing is, we're talking about spending millions on dams and new storage," said Clary of Clean Water Action, "but we don't even know what's underground and what the threats and potentials are. It's laughable."
Though the golf industry considers itself a responsible water user and important piece of the economy, Clary contends such "nonessential" uses of a dwindling supply are short-sighted.
"They are the biggest wasters of water and biggest generator of pesticide runoff," Clary said. "The idea they want to dig wells to deplete aquifers even more is adding insult to injury."
Officials at the East Bay Municipal Utility District, which provides water to Blackhawk and other courses, said wells on private property don't fall under their jurisdiction. Wells do have to be safety checked by the Department of Health to ensure that the general water supply is not contaminated.
Recycled water
Instead of relying on groundwater supplies, a handful of golf courses within the utility district are using recycled water - that is, tap water that is reused for irrigation. But in many spots in the Bay Area, the recycling infrastructure doesn't exist.
Bouchier, the golf industry spokesman, worries that recycled water may not be of sufficient quality and that courses may be asked to shoulder the high costs of recycled water pipelines and treatment.
"The government and industry are going to have to be partners in fixing the problem," he said. "It's going to take time. The big thing is, we'd like to ensure we have the resource, and we understand we can't have it the way we had it 50 years ago."
Area agencies' reaction to drought
Because of the statewide drought, utility districts around the Bay Area have called for various levels of water cutbacks:
Contra Costa Water District: Voluntary water conservation in place. District's water supplies expected to be sufficient to meet demands this year without mandatory rationing. Participating in "Water Saving Hero" campaign, a partnership of Bay Area water agencies. Contact: Patty Friesen, (925) 688-8194, www.ccwater.com.
East Bay Municipal Utility District: Instituted mandatory water rationing and declared water-shortage emergency on May 13. Adopted new drought water rates and surcharge effective Aug. 1. Contact: Charles Hardy, (510) 587-0141, www.ebmud.com.
Marin Municipal Water District: Urging voluntary conservation to avoid mandatory rationing. Offering rebates of up to $350 on irrigation equipment, other devices. Contact: Paul Helliker, (415) 945-1455, www.marinwater.org.
North Marin Municipal Water District: Urging customers to reduce outdoor watering, use no more water than last summer and achieve 15 percent reduction in water use. Contact: Chris DeGabriele, (415) 897-4133, www.marinwater.org.
Santa Clara Valley Water District: Urging customers to cut water use by 10 percent. Taking part in "Water Saving Hero" campaign in partnership with other Bay Area water agencies. Contact: Susan Siravo, (408) 265-2607, www.valleywater.org.
Zone 7 Water Agency (
Sonoma County Water Agency: Urging voluntary conservation. May need to implement mandatory conservation depending on water levels in
Source: Association of California Water Agencies#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/05/MNCT12333D.DTL
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