Local golf courses, the city of Gilroy and others who use large
volumes of recycled water for nonagricultural irrigation will see a
jump in their water bills come July, a move that has one golf
course manager scratching his head.
Local golf courses, the city of Gilroy and others who use large volumes of recycled water for nonagricultural irrigation will see a jump in their water bills come July, a move that has one golf course manager scratching his head.
“We’re disturbed about the rates,” said Eagle Ridge Golf Course general manager Rick Smith. “It was a 56 percent increase from ’06.”
The water district instituted several 25-percent rate increases during the past couple of years, but decided that for the fiscal year beginning July 1 it would back off that pace and propose a 12.5 percent increase, said Tracy Hemmeter, the senior project manager for the district. Under the proposal, rates for non-agricultural customers would go from $244 per acre-foot to $275 per acre-foot.
The rate hikes are needed to offset the operational costs of maintaining pipelines, pumps, valves and reservoirs. But its capital costs are a major driver behind the hikes, with the district having to build more reservoirs and distribution lines to keep up with the pace of demand, including capacity upgrades for South County users, including Eagle Ridge, Hemmeter said.
Eagle Ridge is required to use recycled water on its golf courses as part of its development agreement with the city.
During the past six months, which includes November and December when the golf course rarely, if ever, uses recycled water, Eagle Ridge was billed for 316 acre-feet of recycled water. An acre-foot would cover one acre to a depth of 1 foot.
Eagle Ridge’s costs for the past six months would go from a little more than $77,100 to nearly $89,000 under the proposed rate. And the golf course is getting hit by a double whammy. Eagle Ridge treats its water with sulfur to balance the ph (acid) level before applying it to the roughs and fairways.
Last summer a ton of sulfur costs $195 per ton. Now it’s up to $465 a ton, costing Eagle Ridge another $20,000 a year.
The city pays the water bill for Gilroy Municipal Golf Course, as does Gavilan College for the golf course there. Since both are publicly funded, taxpayers will ultimately pick up the bill for the increase. CordeValle Golf Course did not return a call requesting comment.
The rate hike comes at a time when golf courses are already under siege, Smith said.
“The golf industry is in the doldrums,” he said. “We built way too many golf courses. The National Golf Foundation in the ’90s said we need to build a golf course a day for something like 20 years. It’s just too much inventory.”
But it also comes at a time when a burgeoning state population coupled with climate change is taxing existing water supplies.
“Recycled water is an important part of our water supply,” Hemmeter said, “and it will be even more important as water demands and populations grow, with increased competition for supplies, and as we start facing the impacts of global warming. Recycled water is important now an will become more important in the future.”
The city of Gilroy’s recycled water costs would also go up. Gilroy uses the water for irrigating turf at the Gilroy Sports Complex, the Gilroy Municipal Golf Course and other turf irrigation – ironic in that the water is produced by the city of Gilroy.
Waste water is treated to a high level at the South County Regional Wastewater facility in Gilroy. The water is considered tertiary – not residential quality but safe to irrigate with. That water is then pumped into pipes operated by the water district and distributed to its customers, including back to the city of Gilroy, said Gilroy City Engineer Rick Smelser. You can think of it as the city of Gilroy is the producer, and the water district is the wholesaler. Except that the city of Gilroy is also a customer and a partner with the district for recycled water.
The city passes along district increases, but does not add any increases of its own, Smelser said.
By the numbers
Old rate: $244 per acre-foot charged for recycled water
Proposed rate: $275 per acre-foot, taking effect July 1
Acre-feet: 316 of water used at Eagle Ridge Golf Course in six months
Golf courses: 36 in Santa Clara County
