ON THE COURSE
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S
urinder Singh isn't exactly
sure how long Chardonnay
Golf Club has irrigated its
course with reclaimed water. It's
been at least for the three years that
he's served as superintendent and
"a long time before that," he says.
But he does know one thing: it's
been a tremendous benefit to the
golf course in many ways.
"The main reason we use re-
claimed water is that it's environ-
mentally sound," Singh says. "The
more courses use treated waste-
water for irrigation, the less impact
on water use in a state where the
wet stuff is very scarce."
Another reason is the cost. The
chemically treated water that flows
to the course via the Napa Sanita-
tion District costs about $1.10 for
1,000 gallons, Singh said, a fraction
of what potable, or drinking, water
would cost.
"The price is going up but it's
still far less expensive than other
water," he said.
Singh has worked in the golf in-
dustry for more than 20 years and
helped grow-in five different
courses during his career. This is
the third course he's worked at that
uses reclaimed water. And while
there are advantages, there are also
some challenges.
"Reclaimed water is very high in
sodium and we need to punch our
greens quite often and flush them
once a month to leach out the
sodium so the soil stays healthy," he
said. "We have to stay on top of it
and every day we're doing some-
thing mechanical to keep the soil
from getting too hard."
But, reclaimed water has a nutri-
tional benefit as well. It's very high
in nitrates, the chemical compounds
that help fertilizer do its work, so
using the reclaimed water on land-
scaping and turf means the course
can use less fertilizer which, again,
saves money.
"Working with reclaimed water is
different than (potable) water,"
Singh said. "It's a process that you
need to address on a regular basis
but the more you work with it, the
more you learn how to do it better."
WATER WISE
Chardonnay's use of reclaimed water has many benefits
WHY RECLAIMED WATER?
Reclaimed water is former waste-
water that has been treated to re-
move impurities. It aids in water
conservation as it can be used for
landscaping purposes, which saves
scarce supplies of drinking water.
IN A NUTSHELL
The use of reclaimed water saves
money and keeps the course green.
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