Water availability/sustainability in Arizona is not a new topic, but it has been a hot topic for the media the past couple of weeks. Arizona is the second fastest growing state in the country and the Greater Phoenix Area has led the country in growth the last five years. Water is essential for this growth and our demand is overtaking our current supply of water. This means this new hot topic will not be going away anytime soon.

Last week there was an unfortunate article published in the Arizona Republic placing accusations that Arizona golf courses use much more water than they are allotted. Many of the stats and usage numbers that were utilized in the article were outdated and/or incorrect. The Arizona Golf Association along with the Arizona Alliance for Golf put out a response to help fill in some of the missing pieces and correct information where needed.

• Added a new irrigation system at our Lakes Course that allows us to control each sprinkler head independently as opposed to in groups of heads.
• Completed an extensive xeriscaping of our Lakes course by removing unnecessary turf and replacing it with natural desert terrain.
• Continued to modify and xeriscape areas on both courses to reduce our water needs.
• Sod needed areas with newer hybrid bermudagrasses. Some new variations require up to 40% less water than our original bermudagrass.