Wait... are they saying that if GSO's use of an emergency reservoir on the Haw is contingent on a specific rate of flow being maintained along the river, then sucking water out of the river to keep a private golf course green might not be the wisest choice to make?

Yep. That's what they're saying:

The city's use of the Haw could figure in a prominent rezoning case pending before the Guilford County Board of Commissioners.

Florida-based developer Bluegreen Corp. hopes to build a gated, golf course community upstream from the city's dam, near Haw River State Park. Bluegreen plans to pull water from the Haw for several years, to irrigate its new fairways and greens.

If the case comes to a hearing before the board as scheduled next month, the Haw's role as Greensboro's safety valve likely will be mentioned by project opponents, said David Craft of Citizens for Haw River State Park, a nonprofit group opposing the Bluegreen project.

"It wouldn't be a huge withdrawal. But it's one they could make at anytime, even in the midst of a drought," Craft said.

If only there was an easy way to contact our County commissioners about this issue!

Oh, wait, there is.

Don't forget this, neither.

Comments

[John D. Young]

Bluegreen has made the claim that they plan to draw an average of around 100,000 gallons of water a day from the Haw River for up to seven years to water the proposed Patriot's Landing golf course. But to establish new turf in drought conditions significantly more water (over four times as much) may be required. They plan to draw this water during assumed high water times on the Haw (similar to the plan by the City of Greensboro)and place it in a retaining pond for use during the summer. No retaining pond would last long with a repeat of a N.C. 2007 drought and then water must be drawn from the Haw River at low water times with many negative consequences.

According to an article on Turfnet.com -- "Water use on the average golf course is 300,000 gallons per day. In some regions, that amount can be less than 200,000 gallons or more than 400,000 gallons per day. Looking at these same numbers over 30,000 rounds of golf per year reveals that a single round of golf requires about 3,650 gallons of water."

http://www.turfnet.com/features/rossi_water_less.php