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Water quality changes in golf course irrigation ponds transitioning to
reuse water
Devitt, D.A. (Department of Natural Resource and Environmental Sciences,
University of Nevada Reno); Morris, R.L.; Baghzouz, M.; Lockett, M.;
Fenstermaker, L.K.
Source: HortScience, v 40, n 7, December, 2005, p
2151-2156
Abstract of the Article
Irrigation ponds on nine golf courses in southern Nevada were
monitored for water quality over a 1600-day period. Three of the golf
courses were fresh water courses, three were courses scheduled to
transition to reuse water during the study period and three were long term
users of reuse water. Salinity [electrical conductivity (EC)],
NO
3--N, PO
4-P, pH, algal chlorophyll
concentration, clarity, temperature, oxygen, and all major cations and
anions were analyzed on a monthly basis. A selected fairway on each course
was equipped with water meters to assess irrigation volumes on a bimonthly
basis.
Estimates of salt and NO
3--N loading on
fairways were made by weighting irrigation volumes with concentrations of
salt (assuming 700 mg·L
-1 per dS·m
-1)
and NO
3--N measured in the irrigation ponds. Pond
spectral reflectance measurements were obtained on a single monitoring day
and correlated with water quality parameters. EC, temperature,
NO
3--N, PO
4-P, algal chlorophyll
concentration and clarity all demonstrated significant changes in all
irrigation ponds that transitioned to reuse water (p less than or equal
0.05).
Multiple regression analysis revealed that as much as 75% of the
variability in pH in some irrigation ponds could be accounted for based on
water quality parameters measured, with higher R
2values
associated with elevated HCO
-3 concentrations.
Spectral reflectance (individual wave bands and spectral indices) was
shown to be correlated with pH, clarity and algal chlorophyll
concentration (R
2 = 0.66** to 0.82***) with a well defined
threshold relationship between clarity and the spectral index R705/R670.
Average yearly NO
3--N loads on fairways averaged
8.5 kg·ha
-1·yr
-1 on fresh water
courses, 86.5 kg·ha
-1·yr
-1 on
transition courses and 209.8
kg·ha
-1·yr
-1 on long term reuse
courses (all significantly different at p = 0.05). Average yearly salt
loads on fairways averaged 11,959
kg·ha
-1-yr
-1 on fresh water courses, 14,675
kg·ha
-1·yr
-1 on transition courses and
27,445 kg·ha
-1·yr
-1 on long term reuse
courses (long term significantly different at p = 0.05).
Such results
indicate that significant attention must be given to irrigation strategies
used on reuse irrigated golf courses to properly manage for higher
nitrogen and salt loads.
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