Quote:
Originally Posted by pokeefe45@aol.com
Good information-but a couple of questions/challenges:
1)I was under the impression (impression, not knowledge) that Belle Glade was also managed directly by the developer, without it being contracted out. Are you positive that Southern Oaks is the only one directly managed at this point?
2)The point about 'water' use is an interesting one-but in the case of all of the closed or 'about' to be closed courses-the issue is TOO much moisture-not too little. Fungus forms with moist conditions, not dry.
3)Glenview and Palmer are both in Sumter County, so it's not about the 'county'-but there is a dividing line in TV where reclaimed water begins to come in play. Not sure exactly where that is exactly. Your point remains an interesting point of contrast though.
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It's possible that Bell Glade is still managed by the Developer, but that would run contrary to what I've been told by staff. As we all know, accurate information in TV, is elusive.
You're 100% correct about the water usage. I meant it as a general statement, that there are regulatory differences in the volume of water that can be used on the golf courses in TV. This winter wasn't particular dry or wet. It was close to normal and I never bought into the story that "lack of rain" contributed to poor course conditions.
Palmer is near the county line, I suspect? I have been told by a couple of reasonably credible sources, that it operates under a different Water Withdrawal Permit, than GV, OBG & LL. I thought the difference in the permits, was related to geographical considerations, but it's possible it's related to the timing of when the permit was received, and/or other considerations. I have never seen the permits and admittedly, I don't have any experience with Florida Water Withdrawal Permits. I do manage 2 Water Withdrawal Permits in MA and have managed a few others in the past, so I have some general familiarity with how it works, but it's not Florida experience. Generally, Water Withdrawal Permits have a daily and yearly maximum that can be withdrawn and it doesn't usually matter, who's water it is (rainfall, impounded or aquifer). To put this into a little perspective (again, unrelated to Florida), a club I ran (36 Private holes, 9 holes public), we had a Water Withdrawal Permit for 72,000,000 gallons per year (our daily limit was strictly related to well pumping capacity). We could safely go about 20% over our yearly volume limit, without penalty, but would have to "make it up" the next year. We pumped 130,000,000 gallons one year. We were fined $100,000 and forced to remove about 40 acres from "managed turf" (convert 40 acres to fescue). FYI: The Villages is in an unusual situation because of its size. The Villages cannot, under most any circumstances, move water from one county to another. In other words, every drop of water that falls (or is generated) in a county, must remain in that county. Complicates things near the county borders.
You're mostly correct, in that fungus relies on wet conditions to thrive. That said, it's not always a general over-abundance of water, it's a over-abundance of water, over a specific time frame. I could tell you stories of poorly controlled irrigation systems at golf courses, that were "left running" when the Super went home for lunch and thunder storms hit and saturated a golf course. "Water" at a golf course, requires hour to hour management ... not day to day or week to week.