Water conservation, Greensboro style
For weeks now, I've thought we were facing a serious water crisis, thanks to the drought we're in.
But how serious it can be when the golf course has its high-powered sprinklers pumping city water onto all 18 holes?
From Jason Hardin's story tomorrow here:
Allan Williams, head of the city's water resources department, said there are reasons to treat fields and golf courses differently -- for now.
Keeping playing fields in good shape for children to play on isn't the same thing as maintaining a lawn for looks. And golf courses have a huge investment tied up in the grass on their greens, he said.
I hear that. And last week, I heard discussions speculating about when the city would run out of water. February was the consensus, I think. Of course, it was just speculation by the deejays on a pop station, but still, I suspect some listeners believed it.
I know that golf courses and football fields are under water restrictions, too. But I can understand why some people will resist conservation until the burden is shared more equally.
Comments (7)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
My yard is more important to me than a Golf Course. After all, we have spent a lot of money with expensive plants, sprinklers and landscaping. Why are we told about a severe water shortage, but allowing the Golf Courses to continue watering while my yard is dying? Why are we not using Randleman Dam water? Why haven't we not told High point to go to hell and move on? After 25 years, enough is enough. How much are we spending buying water from Reidsville, Burlington and High point? Would this be necessary if we were using Randleman water? How can we bring in new jobs when we can't even supply what we allready have?
I am a good citizen and will continue to comply but I lay most of this problem to inept politicans.
Posted on October 13, 2007 12:14 PM
My lawn has been crunchy brown since June or July and you can bet that when I'm elected Mayor of Greensboro there will be a hard look at Greensboro's distorted priorities.
Posted on October 13, 2007 5:22 PM
I hate to be a one-trick pony on this subject, but I'll do it because that one trick has so much promise. This is yet another reason Greensboro should consider a system of rational water prices, at the very least during a drought. The city should raise water rates sharply for high levels of water use but keep them low--if not reduce them--for low levels in order not to affect essential uses and hence minimize the impact on the less well-off. One of the many benefits of this approach is that it would let individuals set priorities without the government or other busybodies having a say.
Under such a system, an individual homeowner could decide for herself whether to pay to keep her lawn green, as could country clubs and private golf courses. Even the city itself would be affected, because any water it used for publicly owned golf courses would be water it could have sold to private homeowners or businesses. If the price is right, the right priorities would be set simply as a result of individuals doing what's best for themselves. And we wouldn't have to grit our teeth in anger as we drive past green golf courses in the middle of a drought, because we'd know that those golf courses hadn't been given a pass by the city, and instead had paid some serious green for their greens.
Posted on October 13, 2007 6:31 PM
I realized that my reference to being a one-trick pony might be lost on some. Sorry for being obscure. Here's what I'm referring to:
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070923/NRSTAFF/70921026/-1/OPINION
https://web.uncg.edu/bae/documents/ober/articlePakeuxik1D.pdf
Posted on October 13, 2007 6:53 PM
If we (that would be, "the Israelis") can desalinate to provide a significant percentage of drinking water, why can't we recycle to water lawns and golf courses (like we do to wash cars)? Have we set aside ingenuity talk only about price and supply/demand? I keep hearing about good-old American know-how and initiative, but we're hearing Andrew's good, but recycled solution (the market will sort it out, price it higher) instead of entrepreneurial and innovative approaches.
Posted on October 14, 2007 9:07 AM
Here's an innovative solution: As Mayor I will move Greensboro towards composting toilets starting with City owned parks and golf courses then on to the private sector being sure to use them wherever possible in new construction and rennovation projects.
Composting toilets are easier to clean than traditional water closets and require no water to flush. Besides, the City is already composting everything we flush, it's just that it requires millions of gallons of water to do so.
Next we would convert to gray water recycling systems, install cisterns on City owned buildings and change landscaping to require less water.
I've lots more ideas as well.
Posted on October 14, 2007 9:46 PM
Why does the N&R not have a column on how residents can conserve water?. I recently saw an article asking for readers to send in the names of their favorite and least favorite Halloween candies. Why not ask readers to send in suggestions of how they are conserving water? We all could learn from each other.
Posted on October 15, 2007 11:30 AM