Water Management Strategies

Golf courses in general are notorious for their consumption of potable irrigation water, which in Longlands case is being currently provided by an on-site groundwater well. As part of an over-arching water conservation strategy for the entire development, Island Coastal Ventures is committed to a comprehensive program to reduce the amount of groundwater required for irrigation that will include the following initiatives:

• Existing irrigation water distributions systems will be analysed to determine whether significant leakage is taking place and irrigation water is being distributed efficiently, with modifications implemented as problems are identified;
• Current irrigation procedures will be evaluated to determine whether the volume of water being distributed over the course can be reduced through the implementation of zonal watering during times of minimal evaporation;
• Re-vegetation of specific parts of the course will be undertaken using drought-resistant grass and shrub species with the goal of reducing or eliminating the need for irrigation of these areas; and
• Dependence on the course’s supply of irrigation water will be dramatically reduced through the overnight application of harvested rainwater, treated stormwater, and reclaimed wastewater - which will result in a net benefit to the long-term sustainability of the underlying Quadra Sands aquifer.

Golf courses are also notorious as “flashy” sources of contaminated runoff due to overuse of synthetic chemicals over well-groomed, topographically bland, open surfaces that have been planted with single grass species. Island Coastal Ventures is committed to reducing future runoff-related risks at Longlands by altering the course’s surface drainage patterns in subtle ways, which will include the following measures:

• Strategic creation of new topographic rises using spoil from the site’s underground parking excavations on the course to increase surface runoff flow path lengths;
• Strategic re-cultivation and planting of large sections of the course with shrubs and native grasses, particularly areas between fairways to create drought-tolerant “roughs”, that will absorb and disperse rainwater before it has a chance to channelize; and
• Enlargement and/or creation of new stormwater detention ponds to act as hydraulic balancing and retention features that will mitigate detrimental environmental effects from a range of storm events.