Course managers are always looking for ways to conserve water. They’re hoping new technology can help them use water more efficiently.
DENVER — Denver homeowners aren’t the only ones dealing with drought rules right now.
Large public spaces also have water conservation goals.
Denver Water declared Stage 1 drought in March, and announced new drought pricing this week.
Denver Water said large public landscapes — like parks and recreation districts, public schools and golf courses — are exempt from standard watering days and time restrictions because they operate under Denver Water-approved budgets. But they are still required to reduce water use by 20%.
At Denver’s City Park Golf Course, staff is using new soil moisture technology and recycled wastewater to meet mandatory water conservation targets as the city enters what officials expect will be a dry summer.
Under Stage 1 drought restrictions, Denver Golf’s seven green-grass facilities are required to reduce water use by 20% below their five-year average — a target that amounts to roughly 75 million fewer gallons of water across the entire golf system.
“We have basically a bucket of water that we can use,” said Pamela Smith, Director of Agronomy for the City of Denver’s Golf Division. “It’s a numerical goal to hit that we’re going to meet and hopefully exceed that to be good partners in water conservation.”
Smith said staff are achieving those reductions by concentrating resources on the most critical playing surfaces while deliberately allowing the outer edges of courses to go dry.
“How we’re doing it is basically drying out the outside of the property and keeping our playing surfaces as golfer-friendly and as revenue-generating as we possibly can for as long as we can,” she said.
At City Park Golf Course, staff are relying on a combination of weather monitoring, existing irrigation controls and a tool in beta-testing now, called Turf Rad. Its a sensor-equipped device that is driven over fairways to measure soil moisture three to four inches below the surface. The system uses a color-coded display to indicate moisture levels: green signals adequate soil moisture, while red indicates dry conditions.
The technology is helping staff avoid unnecessary watering.
“I, as a turf grass manager, might see that an area needs water or it doesn’t need water, [but] that’s a subjective professional human standpoint,” Smith said. “Now we’re throwing technology into it.”
It’s not the only way to measure soil moisture, she said. But its the most extensive.
“This is a game changer because now it’s more of a fairway-wide, course-wide, potential that we can take these measurements from.”
City Park also draws from Denver’s reuse water system — treated wastewater that cannot be returned to the river or used for drinking but is approved for irrigating public spaces like golf courses and parks.
Smith said that despite efforts to keep playing areas green, golfers should expect a different experience this season.
“The impact on golfers — what they’re going to see is a lot firmer, harder conditions,” she said. Fairways will play faster, and greens will be less receptive to approach shots. Smith added that lighter rough growth may actually make it easier to find errant balls.
Looking ahead, Smith said her team is preparing for conditions to worsen.
“We’ve seen the pattern, and the pattern right now is drought,” she said. “We are gearing up for a summer of drought. We’re not panicking.” She noted the division is already planning additional conservation measures should the city escalate to Stage 2 restrictions, but they – like everyone else – hope that doesn’t happen.