Opening Golf to the World
Warrington Golf Club
Warrington Golf Club are now entirely self sufficient for water for both the clubhouse and irrigation system. Water is sourced from an onsite pond and a small borehole allowing the club's water supply to be secure throughout the year, and allows future expansion of the irrigation system.
Warrington Golf Club currently use about 5000m3 a year on irrigation of greens and tees. This is currently taken from an onsite pond roughly 10,000m3 in volume which is fed by course drainage and direct rainwater. However, the Club were looking to improve this supply and ensure a more consistent water source which could also supply the clubhouse. Therefore, the Club recently invested in a new 100m deep borehole in order to provide a supplementary source of water. The Club have not applied for an abstraction license as they currently only intend to abstract less than 20m3 a day. Current regulations dictate that if a club does not exceed this figure (also subject to other local environmental restrictions), a separate abstraction licence is not required. However, the Club may apply for a larger licence in the future, if the irrigation system is upgraded to include approaches and back-to-back green irrigation. The Club are also investing in a UV treatment system to allow the clubhouse to be fed by the borehole, allowing the Club to fully disconnect from mains supply, saving significant amounts of money each year. The Club also currently harvest water from a small, shed building which yields over 50m3 a year and are looking into a more formal harvesting system on the main maintenance facility which could yield around 250m3 a year. Ponds around the course are also rented out to a local fish breeder for a sum of £800 a year. In addition to the welcome income, the fish breeder also happens to be a water expert and provides free advice and assistance on ensuring water quality in all the site's ponds remains good, as well as offering free water testing for the whole site. This simple approach saves the Club money and more importantly allows the Club to have a trusted expert available onsite to assist with future issues and expansions to the system
Key figures
- Current irrigation requirement: 5000m3 a year
- Total water volume currently available: 10,000m3 from onsite pond, 50m3 a year from shed
- Total cost of 100m borehole: £13,000