Will Your Course be Drought Proof this Summer?

Author: Marcus van Enk
Company: Just Irrigation P-L, Mornington, Victoria

Water, that great supplier of life to humans, is also the essential ingredient of any successful golf course.

We can’t live without water in our bodies and we can’t live without it on our golf courses. Water is the all-important player in the keeping of quality turf.
The driving force behind any great golf course is a first-class, problem-free irrigation system. Often playing second fiddle to the profile of the golf course itself, the irrigation system sits shyly in the background, often tucked away out of sight and just doing its job to provide the solution to keeping the course looking its prestigious best. Once all the players have left the course for the day and the members are all back at their desks doing what they do best, if you wait around you may catch a glimpse of some activity and pick up a slight humming noise in the air. As the seconds tick over the controller comes to life, sending electrical signals down the lines to the pump station control panel. As the pumps awaken from their sleep in the day, they begin their process of whirling the impellers to create suction from a holding tank. They pass the water through to the filter, which catches any foreign material that may be present, and then sends the water on its way, gushing out down numerous pipelines directly to individual sprinklers on the course. Should you be standing close to a sprinkler during this time, BANG, up it pops to blow a stream of water to supply the turf with life for a new day. The irrigation process is the lifeblood of the golf course, acting as veins do in the human body to connect all parts back to the central pump station.

The irrigation system is not often publicised and can get lost in the hype of the latest and greatest PGA tour, but be sure to note that every course needs one. Most courses require a substantial amount of water to retain life that in turn retains members, which in turn retains life for the club. So if you understand the place of the irrigation system in the big world of golf, you can understand that the cost of water supply is often substantial, and on limited budgets can deem a course unplayable should there be insufficient resources. Some prominent Australian golf courses are utilising up to a staggering $400,000 of water per annum. Such massive outlays, coupled with the growing concern for the future of our water, mean that it is important that we focus on the source of this increasingly scarce resource, which is being likened to that of gold or oil.
According to the Green Paper, irrigation in Australia accounts for over 70% of our water usage.
Just Irrigation’s Managing Director, Mark McIntosh, says “it is understandably important that the focus of our water-saving initiatives be geared towards improvements in irrigation, and this is the driving force of our company”. At the forefront of this drive, and ready to supply solutions to the questions firing all over our country, Just Irrigation is working to save our water and “drought proof” our courses.
The emerging innovation in irrigation is the supply of recycled water, which many courses are using successfully. Recycled water is water that has been derived from sewage systems or industry processes and treated to a standard that is appropriate for its intended use. With a few on board and the uptake of courses changing over to recycled water trickling along steadily, the challenge we now face is to encourage other golf courses, the government and the public to support such initiatives. Golfers and humans alike must ensure the supply of drinking water is not wasted in irrigation systems when recycled water can be used as an alternative resource. It cannot be emphasised enough that our effluent supply can be put to valuable use instead of flushing into our beautiful ocean beaches, spoiling the serenity that makes our golf courses what they are today.

Just Irrigation is working with a number of courses; one course in particular that has taken the bull by the horns and designed its layout using recycled water for irrigation is St Andrews Beach Golf Course, Victoria. Commissioned by Golf Club Properties Limited (GCPL), the famed Tom Doaks has designed the two superb 18-hole layouts currently under construction at St Andrews Beach on the Mornington Peninsula.
When GCPL sought the experts in recycled water, Just Irrigation was ready to meet their needs. Just Irrigation was commissioned to design, supply and construct the entire system. Work included surveying, quality installation, pipe fabrication, pump manifold construction, electrical work, maintenance and environmental support, as well as ongoing auditing to ensure the water is used to EPA and the Department of Natural Resources reuse water guidelines. The entire irrigation installation took just over three months to complete.

Straightforward Process

The process, although it may seem complicated, is relatively straightforward. It involves either direct connection to a wastewater treatment plant or connection to an effluent outfall pipeline via a pump station such as that at the St Andrews Beach Golf Course, which is connected to the South Eastern Outfall. The connection to the Outfall requires a great deal of coordination and planning. Regulations are a top priority, and guidelines set by the EPA, Australian Standards, Occupational Health and Safety and water authorities require strict adherence. Compliance with these requirements needs a wealth of knowledge and expertise, for which Just Irrigation employed the services of an experienced recycled water team member from Melbourne Water. With over 40 recycled water projects to its credit, Just Irrigation is a seasoned operator in this market, positioning the company as the total recycled water package. The recycled water supplied from the
Outfall is of a grade that is safe to humans and livestock, producing green grass that is just as lush as that nourished with potable water. It is estimated that once the two golf courses at St Andrews Beach are fully operational, the total recycled water usage will be 200 megalitres per annum, which will represent a substantial cost savings for the Club.

There are likely differences to take note of in the product supply. These include the use of lilac-coloured piping, lilac striped piping or standard piping with purple-coloured warning tape, lilac coloured sprinklers, fittings and valve boxes, stainless steel pumps and manifolds, and recycled water warning signs. As any of the current users will inform you, the biggest benefit is, of course, lies in the cost savings in water usage.

Golf courses aside, Just Irrigation is also working closely with South East Water (SEWL) on up to 10 new recycled water projects with the aim of “drought proofing” the Mornington Peninsula. One project has the potential to use 8,000 to 10,000 megalitres of recycled water per annum, reducing the number of days of the yearly full flow from the Gunnamatta Outfall into Bass Strait.
Mornington Peninsula golf courses, horticultural interests, agri-businesses and aquacultural companies will be the primary users.

Remember that drinking water is an extremely valuable resource that must be handled delicately. It is therefore important that organisations with long-standing and proven expertise be supported in their endeavours to improve and save the world around us. Should you be thinking of converting your golf course, farm or other facility to recycled water, be sure to take action by making contact with professionals. And once your job is complete, continue to encourage and support the use of recycled water to save our natural resources. Next time you visit your favourite course be sure to take a few moments to look around at the impact the irrigation system is making.

This Media Release was published in Golf and Sports Turf