New EU water report examines golf
March 19, 2009
A major, new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) confirms that, in many parts of Europe, water use is unsustainable. The report also provides recommendations for a new approach to managing water resources.
The report contains numerous references to golf, which are highlighted below. The EEA Press Release accompanying the report starts “From golf courses to books … all the goods and services that we rely on, together with many of our daily activities, require a vital resource: water.” An EEA article accompanying the launch of the report is entitled “Golf courses and washing machines: obstacles and opportunities for sustainable water management”.
The EEA report ‘Water resources across Europe – confronting water scarcity and drought‘ highlights that while southern Europe continues to experience the greatest water scarcity problems, water stress is growing in parts of the north too. Moreover, climate change will cause the severity and frequency of droughts to increase in the future, exacerbating water stress, especially during the summer months.
Key EEA findings and recommendations:
Shifting the management focus from increasing supply to minimising demand needs to involve various different policies and practices:
- In all sectors, including agriculture, water should be priced according to the volume used.
- Governments should implement drought management plans more extensively and focus on risk rather than crisis management.
- Water-intensive bioenergy crops should be avoided in areas of water scarcity.
- A combination of crop selection and irrigation methods can substantially improve agricultural water efficiency if backed-up with farmer advisory programmes. National and EU funds including the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy can play an important role in promoting efficient and sustainable water use in agriculture.
- Measures to raise public awareness, such as eco-labelling, eco-certification, education programmes in schools, are essential to realise sustainable water use.
- Leakage in public water supply systems must be addressed. In parts of Europe, water loss via leakage can exceed 40 % of total supplies.
- Illegal abstraction of water, often for agricultural use, is widespread in certain areas of Europe. Appropriate surveillance and a system of fines or penalties should be put in place to address the issue.
- Authorities should create incentives for greater use of alternative water supplies, such as treated wastewater, greywater, and ‘harvested’ rainwater, to help reduce water stress.
References to golf in the report include:
Executive Summary:
“tourism is associated with activities such as swimming and golf (because of the requirement to irrigate courses) that significantly increase water use. In southern Europe, tourism has helped to drive an increase in the use of public water in recent decades”
Opportunities to expand supply sustainably:
“the use of treated municipal wastewater is currently low throughout Europe but could expand significantly, particularly for the irrigation of crops and golf courses, provided that guidelines and standards are adhered to.”
Alternative supply methods:
“in Europe as a whole 75 % of re-used wastewater is directed to agriculture (Mediterranean EUWI Wastewater Reuse Working Group, 2007). Additional uses include irrigation of golf courses …”
Tourism:
“leisure facilities such as swimming pools, water parks and golf courses can significantly increase water use. Typically, tourists use more water than locals per capita.” … “In 2002, the Júcar had 19 golf courses with an average water use of between 6 500 and 10 000 m3/ha/year. Turnover from each golf course is estimated at EUR 1.5–9 million per year, with an average of 150 employees at each. There are plans to develop a further 55 golf courses in the Júcar basin. … While the presence of a green, well-watered golf course can appear incongruous in arid areas of the Mediterranean, its use of water is no greater than that of a comparable area of irrigated corn and it yields a better financial return (UNEP, 2005). When the employment created by golf courses is also accounted for, the driving forces for their continued development throughout the Mediterranean region become apparent. A potential solution to limiting the impact of golf courses upon the water resource is the re-use of wastewater for irrigation, a practice already adopted at some golf courses within southern Europe. In the Sperone Resort, Corsica, for example, effluent is subject to lagooning and tertiary treatment by sand filtration before being used to irrigate the neighbouring golf course with a maximum application of 280 m3/day (Mediterranean EUWI Wastewater Reuse Working Group, 2007). While other such examples exist, it is clear that there is the potential for greater use of wastewater to irrigate golf courses across Europe.”
Influence of climate change:
“A clear separation is likely to exist between components (of water demand) that are sensitive to climate change (showering, gardening, lawn sprinkling, golf course, swimming pools and aqua parks) from those that are non-sensitive such as dish and clothes washing (EEA, 2008).”
The EEA article accompanying the launch of the report on “Golf courses and washing machines: obstacles and opportunities for sustainable water management” also examines golf in Spain’s Júcar River Basin.
“With 19 golf courses already and another 55 planned, Spain’s Júcar River Basin offers the enthusiastic golfer a wealth of options. Unfortunately, good news for golfers can translate into a headache for water-resource managers. Put simply, the Júcar’s courses devour huge amounts of water — typically 500 000 m3 annually for a single course. The accompanying influx of tourists demanding catering, showers and swimming pools inevitably puts an even greater strain on public water supplies — often at the times of year when resources are most scarce. In the context of the steadily drier summers brought on by global warming, the risks to water supplies and human wellbeing are potentially high. … At first sight, the obvious way to promote sustainable water use in the Júcar River Basin is to ban further development of golf courses. But matters are not that simple. Although a verdant golf course might look out of place in arid Mediterranean regions, it uses no more water than a comparable area of irrigated corn and yields a much better financial return. Turnover at the Júcar’s courses is estimated at EUR 1.5–9 million annually and each has an average of 150 employees. With tourist numbers growing steadily, the arguments for turning farmland into golf courses can therefore appear quite compelling.”
The article finishes on a positive note and again focuses on golf:
“Adopting (good) practices more widely may allow regions like the Júcar both to guarantee sufficient water supplies and continue reaping the economic benefits of golf course development for years to come: good news for local people, water resource managers and visiting golfers alike.”
The EEA is an EU Agency providing information to EU policy-makers and the public.
The report “Water resources across Europe — confronting water scarcity and drought” is being launched during the current 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey.
The article “Golf courses and washing machines: obstacles and opportunities for sustainable water management” is at http://www.eea.europa.eu/articles/golf-courses-and-washing-machines-obstacles-and-opportunities-for-sustainable-water-management
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