The huge amount of water involved in irrigating golf courses has long been a source of controversy in certain sectors of society, especially environmentalist organisations. In actual fact, however, the current computerised irrigation systems, and the quality of the water supply network, is far removed from the antiquated piping and irrigation systems used in the past. Each drop of water is used to maximum effect, certainly during these times of crisis when every last cent spent comes under the microscope.

Academics from various universities, agronomy experts and authorities in a wide range of fields have been able to demonstrate that the presence of golf courses has a positive impact on the environment where they are located, thanks to the preservation of flora and flora; and that the benefits gained from water use, in terms of job creation, are greater in the golf industry than in the agricultural sector.

Public utility company Acosol, part of the Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa del Sol Occidental (Western Costa del Sol Association of Municipalities), is an excellent example of sound management in the process of recycling water and supplying it to golf courses. In fact, the institution currently supplies recycled water to 35 courses.

Within two years, possibly before then, all Costa del Sol clubs could be using recycled water, according to Acosol general manager Juan Carlos Fernández-Rañada de la Gándara. “Always on the condition that the authorities fulfil their obligations,” he adds, “because the work that is dependant on the Junta de Andalucía (regional government) is not proceeding well.” He pinpoints two treatment plants: “”La Víbora is going very slow and Guadalmansa at three-quarter pace; the expansion work is virtually at a standstill, presumably because of lack of funds.”

The head of Acosol notes that tenders will soon be invited for work on La Víbora that will double the plant’s capacity to produce recycled water, with the network able to supply golf courses in the eastern part of Marbella municipality. This work will take no more than two years, while work to connect Fuengirola and Mijas is already underway and will be finished in one year, “always on the condition that the project commitments are maintained, which is not with Guadalmansa. When these projects are completed we’ll be able to irrigate all the Costa del Sol’s courses with recycled water.”

–How much recycled water does Acosol produce?

In 2010 we produced and supplied 3,700,000 cubic metres and in 2011, up to the last quarter, we had topped that figure. If we include the final quarter based on the previous year’s figures, we will have annual growth of nearly 10 per cent. Nearly all that water is for golf, as only two or three other specific installations are supplied as well. With the La Víbora pipeline we will be able to irrigate all of Marbella’s public green areas, at least from the city centre to Cabopino.

-If this recycled water were not used by golf courses, where would it go?

–Straight into the sea. We can reach a level of recycled water production that would be sufficient not only to irrigate all the Costa del Sol’s golf courses but also all the public green areas. Obviously, it’s a distribution problem, to pump the water to each green area, and that would require investment. We could have a recycled water production capacity equal to half the size of La Concepción (the dam which supplies water to Marbella and other Costa del Sol municipalities, as far as Torremolinos) – i.e. a capacity of 20 cubic hectometres.

-What is the quality of Acosol’s recycled water?

–If we didn’t know where it came from, we could even drink it. It is literally drinking water.

-However, some golf courses complain about bad smells…

–Perhaps because there was a time when the water used did not go through a tertiary process, as it does now. This treatment is now applied on the whole Costa del Sol and the water comes out spotless, so it doesn’t produce any smells. Any bad smells must have some other origin; they’re not from the water supplied by Acosol to golf courses.

-What revenue is generated from recycled water supplied to golf courses?

-It’s a moot point, because we apply a rate that does not correspond to the actual costs of production, no doubt for political reasons dating to some time back. As soon as we determine the real costs of the new production, when it’s in place, I believe we will have to update the rates. We don’t aim to make money with the price, but we should at least cover the production costs – which are not currently being covered.

–Some courses complain about the price of water. Is that perhaps because they have their own wells?

-I think it’s fair to say some of them are kidding themselves. The price of our water is very low, a lot lower than that for domestic supplies. The price for recycled water is 15 cents a cubic metre, while the domestic price can be as high as one euro.

-What would be the cost for a golf course of irrigating with recycled water?

-We have been supplying an average of between 300,000 and 400,000 cubic metres a year per course – depending on their usage – so, multiplying that by 0.15, we have an idea of the expense (between €45,000 and €60,000). Irrigating a golf course with recycled water requires between 2,500 and 3,000 cubic metres a day, but irrigation is not needed all year because there is an average of three months when it rains. When someone buys something it always seems expensive but in actual fact it’s not all that significant a part of a golf course’s budget. And we also need to take into account that the environmental benefits are huge for the whole society. It’s not reasonable, or right, to irrigate with drinking water when it’s possible to do so with recycled water.”

- Golf has its detractors due to the huge water consumption involved…

It is true there are many but I believe they are not justified in their criticism. Achieving this massive level of recycled water production requires major technological development and considerable investment in waste treatment plants, something that is undertaken in very few places. Being able to use water that would otherwise be lost, and which also reduces consumption of drinking water and eases the strain on aquifer supplies, has a positive effect on the environment from every point of view. There is nothing more environmentally friendly than using recycled water. We have to defuse this incorrect idea that golf courses are counter-productive for the environment, when it is in fact the opposite.

During the development of Marbella’s General Urban Plan, when the golf courses came under review, the conclusion was that they were the most environmentally friendly aspect of Marbella, thanks to the reproduction of plant species that had been lost and the transformation of dry areas into gardens with a wealth of magnificent flora and fauna.

 

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