Ten Years of Recycled Water Use at Big Canyon Country Club, Newport Beach, California.

In 1997, Big Canyon Country Club received its first delivery of recycled water. To compare the long-term effects of irrigation with recycled water vs. domestic water, four fairways were irrigated with domestic water and 14 fairways were irrigated with recycled water. Soils and turf quality were monitored periodically throughout a 10-year period. Soil analyses were conducted by Brookside Laboratories, New Knoxville, OH. Nitrogen was analyzed using 1M KCl extraction and a Lachat Quick Chem 8000 flow injection analyzer. Other elements were analyzed using Mehlich III extraction and ICP, and electrical conductivity was measured using a 1:2 soil:water dilution. Over the 10 year period, the most notable trend included significant and damaging increase in nitrate nitrogen in the soils irrigated with recycled water, a change that necessitated dramatic modifications in the golf course’s nitrogen management programs. Significantly increased levels of potassium, boron and zinc were also observed in fairways irrigated with recycled water. All other parameters either did not significantly change over time, or changed similarly in both the domestic and recycled water areas. Overall, we found that with regular soil monitoring and modified management practices, the recycled water could be successfully used for several years, with minimal negative impact on turf quality or playability. However, soil nitrogen was difficult to manage after 8 years of continuous irrigation using recycled water, resulting in the need to switch to domestic water for irrigation during the months of July through September in 2005 through 2007.