Opening Golf to the World
Closed Loop Reedbed and Washdown Facilities
Washdown water is treated by the treatment system, stored and then pumped back to the washdown facility when required for reuse.
All golf courses should have a designated washdown facility to clean maintenance equipment after use. This allows debris such as grass clippings, trace amounts of fertiliser and pesticides on machinery to be washed off in a secure location. Well-designed washdown facilities prevent washdown water from directly entering surrounding water courses before treatment can occur.
Several options exist to treat this water:
- Closed loop reedbed system
- Open discharge reedbed system
- Closed loop microbial system
- Infiltration bed system
These systems can be made almost water neutral by incorporating water recycling into their design. Washdown water is treated by the treatment system, stored and then pumped back to the washdown facility when required for reuse. This can reduce annual water requirements of a washdown facility by up to around 90%. Generally, a golf club will use between 0.3-1m3 a day when washing multiple items of machinery. If this is recycled it can potentially save hundreds of m3 a year in water use.