As everyone is aware I'm sure, Florida is currently experiencing one of its worst droughts in years. The Naples area is 10 inches below average in 2011, and there are areas 30 inches below average over the last 12 months.
South Florida Water Management District governs users of irrigation water. In April, the SFWMD mandated a 15% reduction from our monthly irrigation allotment. In April we had almost 37 million gallons to use for the entire month. We made it through April in good shape, and also has some timely rains early in the month.
The month of May saw our gallons reduced to 31.5 million gallons, and currently for June we have 16.75 million gallons. The reason for the reduction even though temperatures are high and water demand is also high, is our allotment is based on average monthly rainfall. This is were receiving very little rainfall in May and the beginning of June really makes it difficult to supply enough water to keep grass green.
Our current June allotment allows for 560,000 gallons per night. Under normal circumstances we would be using close to 1.3 - 1.4 million gallons per night. That is much more than a 15% reduction when there is no rainfall occurring.
Due to the shortage of irrigation, we've decided to concentrate our irrigation on the open South Course. This will hopefully provide acceptable playing conditions, with some brown turf in areas. Supplemental hand watering is being done each day to help keep prime playing area green.
The North Course currently is only receiving irrigation on the greens. Bermudagrass is extremely drought tolerant, and can survive a couple months without water. The turf will turn brown or do into dormancy, but once adequate moisture returns to the soil, the turf will quickly recover.
Hopefully the rainy season is starting to show its face, and the current drought is a thing of the past. If there are any questions about water restrictions or the current conditions of the golf course, please do not hesitate to contact the Golf Course Operations Department. We would be more than happy to answer any questions.
Friday, June 17, 2011
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