WASTEWATER and GOLF
Big fines are threatened if golf club’s water disposal solutions are anything less than squeaky clean Report by ALASTAIR MITCHELL
BRITAIN’S sports clubs are taking a hammering on at least two fronts at the moment. The unreliability of Britain’s weather makes water management a tricky issue for them to tackle, but the onset of tough laws
governing disposal of waste water threatens them with big fines if their disposal solutions are anything less than squeaky clean. Since the Groundwater
Regulations 1998 (GR) were introduced, several systems have come to market designed to help clubs comply with the law. Simpler ways of treating
and recycling machine wash water for example were available well before the act came into force and these, coupled with more recent systems, give clubs ample opportunity to meet their legal obligations. Golf clubs are particularly vulnerable given the acreages of greens and fairways managers must police.
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However, it is said that only 10% of the estimated 2,500 golf clubs in the UK have to date installed the necessary equipment, which can cost from several thousands to tens of thousands of pounds, depending on the water treatment capacity required. Those costs could shrink in comparison however with the fines imposed for contaminating groundwater. “Golf is a high profile sport and is seen as exclusive and elitist,” says Andy Campbell, Golf Courses and Estates Manager at the 45-hole De Vere Carden Park golf resort near Chester. “Clubs should be seen to be leading the way by complying with the
groundwater regulations. If they do not, it is only a matter of time before a court case hits the news. They should also take a responsible stance on water recycling, especially when shortages are looming, as now.”
Campbell, Immediate Past- Chairman of BIGGA, believes that many clubs are not up to speed with the legislation. “Either that, or they are financially unable to meet the requirements.” “Organisations such as BIGGA have a big role to play in educating their members - the golf course managers and greenkeepers - about compliance. We still have a lot to do on this,” he
admits.
Campbell is one of the estimated 200 or so clubs in the UK who have specified a waste water treatment system, choosing one from Waste2Water, which, like other options from Course Care and Hydroscape for example, uses a microbial substrate to digest pollutants such as oil and diesel while also filtering off solid materials such as grass clippings, soil and sand. “The outlay of around £30,000, which included civils such as the construction of a concrete washpad where vehicles are assembled for hosing down, doesn’t add to the bottom line,” says Campbell “but the process saves labour costs and waste management operators disposal charges. The grass clippings that the system separates out are recycled by taking them for composting elsewhere on site.” Tim Earley, Managing
Director of Waste2Water, puts
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