After the Coachella Valley Water District approved a new hookup for the course, the Troon Golf property in Palm Desert, Calif. has signed on to use a blend of recycled water and Colorado River water for its irrigation needs. Previously, it had pumped its water from a well.
The Classic Club, a Troon Golf property in Palm Desert, Calif., will be switching to a blend of recycled water and Colorado River water for irrigation, after the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) approved an agreement to hook up the course, The Desert Sun of Palm Springs, Calif. reported.
Until now, the Classic Club has pumped its water from a well, using roughly 1,300 acre-feet — or 420 million gallons— of groundwater per year, The Desert Sun reported.
Under the agreement with the water district, the golf course will now receive a mix of treated sewage and water transported by canal from the Colorado River.
“The district is excited to have the final hookup in place for the Classic Club, following years of planning,” CVWD spokeswoman Heather Engel said. “We anticipate the switch to non-potable supply will save approximately 1,050 acre-feet a year.”
On October 22, the CVWD board authorized its general manager to sign the agreement, which requires the Classic Club to use non-potable water for at least 80 percent of its irrigation needs, The Desert Sun reported.
The water agency expects to spend about $2.3 million connecting the course, The Desert Sun reported. Engel said the money would come from a fund primarily made up of revenues from sales of non-potable water.
It was not clear how much the Classic Club would be spending on its end to adapt the course to the new water supply, reported The Desert Sun, which said it could not reach managers at the course for comment.
Members of the water agency’s board have agreed to accelerate efforts to wean golf courses from groundwater, The Desert Sun reported, in an attempt to alleviate pressures on the Coachella Valley’s overused aquifer.
The CVWD Board members took that stance following a series of articles in which The Desert Sun documented significant declines in groundwater levels, despite efforts to replenish the aquifer using imported water from the Colorado River.
A majority of the 124 golf courses in the Coachella Valley pump groundwater from wells, and those large withdrawals have contributed to long-term declines in water levels in the aquifer, The Desert Sun reported.
CVWD Board President John Powell, Jr., said that he and others at the water agency hope to hook up more golf courses in the coming months.
“We’re working on it,” Powell said. “Within the next six to 12 months, we’ll have two or three more.”
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