|
Water Win for Georgia Golf
Golf
course superintendent Mark Esoda (Atlanta Country Club) has
invested nearly three years to the Georgia golf industry’s fight
against business-crushing water restrictions. Now his
persistence has finally paid off.
Earlier this
year, we were on hand when Esoda told club leaders
at the
Golf Industry Show
how
“critically important" it is for the golf industry to get
involved in finding solutions and making decisions for the
future. His educational session focused on the need to
re-educate government agencies and clear up common public
misconceptions about golf course water usage.
On May 29th,
Dr. Carol A. Couch, Director of the Environmental Protection
Division (EPD) of the Department of Natural Resources for the
State of Georgia, signed an order that eased “greens only” water
restrictions levied on golf courses during Georgia’s Level IV
drought.
The order
commends users throughout the state for efforts to meet the
Governor’s conservation directives and acknowledges the state’s
golf industry for “recognizing the importance of water
efficiency” and its interest in "implementing best management
practices (BMPs) established by the University of Georgia that
minimize the water used for irrigation purposes.”
The ruling
allows golf courses with existing water withdrawal permits
issued by the EPD to use water for irrigating areas other than
greens provided: 1) the permit holder is implementing
appropriate best management practices and 2) water use for
irrigating areas other than greens does not exceed 65 percent of
the total reported use for 2005 or 2006 irrigation season.
|
