According to a 2014 University of Arizona study, 75 percent of the water used to irrigate courses in the Prescott active management area is effluent, compared with only 21 percent in the Phoenix active management area.
Yet nearly three-quarters of the water used for all Arizona golf courses is pumped from the same sources as drinking water, according to the Arizona Department of Water Resources’ most recent reports from 2016.
Arizona as a whole still relies heavily on groundwater needed for drinking and other uses by residents, state officials said.
“Groundwater is about 48 percent,” said Jeff Tannler, active management director for the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
“From a cost perspective, water was one of their biggest costs that they had as a golf course operator,” said Ron Hilgart, managing principal of HilgartWilson, a land-planning, engineering, construction management and surveying firm working with Moon Valley.
“As we tried to evaluate different options, Lookout Mountain Golf Club came along and said that they would also have interest in finding a solution.” With two privately owned Phoenix courses on board, the group went to the city to propose a development agreement, deferring the cost of water bills while constructing a pipeline to pull raw water from the Arizona Canal.
“(Phoenix) is paying about one-third of the cost to get the line to Cave Creek.” Non-potable water costs 40 percent less than drinkable water, so the courses stand to benefit over time.
By state law, Hilgart said, golf courses are limited to about 90 acres of turf if they rely on groundwater, but “during peak hot weather months, (a course) could be using a million gallons a day.” “The effluent use has increased over the years as more golf courses have the infrastructure available to them for effluent or reclaimed use,” said Tannler.
“We do realize that not all golf courses have access to reclaimed or effluent water supplies.” Tannler said the department’s management plans contain incentives for using effluent, either partially or fully.
Still, the Arizona Department of Water Resources receives only reported figures from those 240 golf courses within the five active management areas.