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Recycled what?
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Golf courses that use recycled water are generally required to label all visible irrigation system components with purple tape, tags or paint to indicate that the water is recycled. Photo by W. Dowe |
One of the major global issues of the past several years has been the growing shortage of water to support the needs of increasing populations, including drinking water, water for industrial uses and recreational activities and irrigation water for agriculture and landscaping. In response, golf courses have adopted water conservation measures, and many use recycled water for irrigation.
In his article, “Using recycled water on golf courses” (GCM, June 2007), Ali Harivandi, Ph.D., listed several compounds that are present in recycled water and should be monitored by superintendents, including sodium, chlorine, chloride, carbonate and bicarbonate. Other chemicals also persist in water treated by muni-
cipal wastewater treatment plants. Among these are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which interfere with hormonal processes that control cellular development.
The EPA says that more than 90 percent of EDCs are removed from municipal wastewater, but researchers have documented deformities in fish and amphibians at very low concentrations of these chemicals — measured in parts per trillion. A recent study in England (March 1, 2008; www.plosone.org) found that soil contaminated with EDCs can also affect wild birds, which showed changes in their brains and their behavior after eating contaminated invertebrates.
Where do these chemicals come from? Birth-control pills, other drugs and the byproducts of common household products such as paint, household cleaners, laundry detergent, shampoos and hair color contribute to the load of EDCs in municipal wastewater.
Because EDCs are widespread in the environment, the EPA has placed them on a list of high-priority research areas. Researchers at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Fargo, N.D., reported in February that, in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, a new catalyst “rapidly degrade(s) . . . natural and synthetic reproductive hormones found in agricultural and municipal effluent streams.” Additional research is necessary to determine whether this catalyst will be effective in treating actual wastewater.
Through The Environmental Institute for Golf, GCSAA is helping to fund a two-year research project in California and Nevada that will include field experiments at active golf courses that have a history of irrigating with recycled water. Each site will be monitored for the presence of EDCs in soil pore water, in groundwater and in water bodies used to store water from the municipal water treatment plant before it is used for irrigation.
According to The Kiplinger Letter, dry conditions are expected to prevail in the southern half of the U.S. again this year. The Northwest’s water supply should be relieved, and replenished mountain snowpacks are anticipated to boost spring and summer water flows. Ewing Irrigation, Golf & Industrial, is set to launch 18 new locations this year. The wholesale distributor of landscape, irrigation and industrial products will open branches in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. The growth marks a move into eastern territories for the company, which previously had concentrated its operations mostly in the western U.S. |
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