Source: Monterey County Herald (California)
The use of drinking water to irrigate Pebble Beach golf courses would be virtually eliminated under recent agreements by several agencies.
Under these agreements, the Carmel Area Wastewater District will improve its water reclamation process to allow the golf courses to convert almost exclusively to irrigating with recycled water.
About 300 acre-feet of water will be returned to the Carmel River each year, enough water to serve 1,200 homes, said David Berger, general manager of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District.
Berger said the water savings could mean the difference in California American Water meeting its annual pumping limits on the river. This year, Cal Am avoided surpassing those limits only by emergency rate increases and urgent calls for conservation. Cal Am finished the year just 191 acre-feet below the limit.
The basis of the agreements is an upgrade to the wastewater district's treatment equipment to reduce the salinity in its recycled water.
For years, the seven golf courses of the Del Monte Forest have had to flush their greens with potable water to remove the salts left by the recycled water. New equipment will remove the salt and eliminate the need for flushing, or at least that's the plan.
The Pebble Beach Co. will pay between $22 million and $24 million for the upgrade, using proceeds from the sale of a portion of its water credits to Del Monte Forest property owners.
The project also calls for the Pebble Beach Community Services District to refurbish the Forest Lake Reservoir to allow for storage of enough recycled water in the winter to meet demands in the summer.
Dick Andrews, district general manager, said the project should eliminate the golf courses' use of Cal Am water except in the case of extreme drought.
The agreement also calls for likely surpluses of highly treated wastewater to be used to increase the water level in the Carmel River Lagoon to benefit steelhead trout habitat. There was a critical water shortage in the lagoon this summer while the state was expanding the lagoon to its natural state.
Berger of the Peninsula water district said surpluses could also be used for municipal irrigation, further reducing the demand on the Carmel River.
The agreements are the result of six months of negotiations among the three districts, the Pebble Beach Co. and the Independent Recycled Water Users Group, which represents owners of four courses: Cypress Point, Poppy Hills and the two courses at Monterey Peninsula Country Club. Also affected will be the Links at Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Pebble Beach Golf Links.