Calgary golf courses prepare for potential water restrictions

While the City of Calgary plans to reopen two of its public golf courses this week, officials say water restrictions are important as the threat of drought remains.

McCall Lake will open its 18-hole course and driving range on Friday, and Maple Ridge will also open its 18-hole course that day, weather permitting.

John Faber, head of golf operations for the City of Calgary, says his team has been working hard over the past two months to prepare for the opening and figure out how to manage water shortages or restrictions.

“As the water restrictions go through different phases, we'll start to see irrigation of the rough grass offline, then we'll move to reducing the amount of irrigation on the fairways, and then down to the tees,” Faber said.

“Does it detract from the overall experience for golfers? No. They're probably going to see brown grass, it's not going to be green as usual, but the greens themselves, they're valuable assets, so we water them as needed.

Faber notes that using more water technology, including soil meters, can help determine how much water to use.

None of the City of Calgary courses use potable water, but other courses rely on various water sources, including treated city water, to irrigate their fairways.

The tarps will go up on the fairway at McCall Lake Golf Course on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.

Blue Devil Golf Club, located southeast of the city, opens Thursday and receives water from the Bow River through a water license agreement with the province.

Slade King, chief operating officer of Play Golf Calgary, said his maintenance crews are adjusting to concerns about potential water restrictions as early as this May.

“We've been discussing and developing different levels of plans all winter long depending on what the limit is.”

“We manage this water for pesticide and chemical applications, and even just for game conditions. You don't want it to be too wet, you want your greens to grow at a certain level and those types of things, you're sure not to overwater as much as possible. He has a science, and less water is better.'

King adds that some chemical applications to grass can also help reduce the amount of water needed.

“Those kinds of things help you get water deeper into the ground, and certain fertilizer practices are good for the grass, so it avoids drought and can last a few weeks or a month with some water restrictions.”

Calgary Watershed Management Program

According to the City of Calgary, water restrictions could be implemented starting May 1.

The city's latest update shows that the Calgary region has remained in drought conditions and has improved somewhat since mid-winter.

Natural river flows remain low and reservoir storage in Bow Reservoir upstream from Calgary is average for this time of year due to the construction of high gates at Glenmore Reservoir on the Elbow River.

Snowpack on the mountain has increased but is still below average, prompting the city to create a task force to update the site's existing water management programs.

McCall Lake Golf Course will be listed on April 10, 2024. The Canadian Prairies Chapter of the Canadian Irrigation Association (CPCIA) leads a task force on urban utility law that has not changed in more than two decades.

“With the current ability to limit water and this outdated law, it has significant but devastating effects on the irrigation and landscape industries in general,” said CPCIA Vice President Aline Kahavati.

Kahavati says his organization is now working to improve the law and make recommendations for responsible water management.

Locations that are not currently considered urban water management sites should limit watering to two hours per week if there are restrictions.

CPCIA is now recommending new technology changes to certain locations as water management sites.

“If the site has an automatic irrigation system with smart water technologies such as flow sensors, soil moisture sensors, weather or pressure regulating nozzles, and they have completed an irrigation system assessment and an irrigation audit by a certified landscape irrigation auditor, they should be able to. qualification and certification,” he said.

Full details of the program will be announced by the city at the end of April.

Additionally, other urban contractor groups, such as Naiad Irrigation Systems, are working with homeowners and homeowner associations to help limit water use through advanced technologies.

Company CEO Myles Sidorak says its team of certified irrigation contractors helps Calgarians save water and money.

“We use technologies like the Hunter Hydrawise timer, which adjusts the hours depending on the time of year, so if it's really cool, it reduces the hours, but if it's really warm, it increases the hours,” he said.

“Also, as a contractor, we can go into the client's portal and automatically adjust our work hours, for example last July or August during water restrictions. We were able to access our clients' timers and set them up to meet the new requirements. Water restrictions in the City of Calgary at the time.