Section 4-170-040 Water Balance Study
The applicant shall conduct a water balance study to demonstrate that the development has a sufficient supply of water other than groundwater to meet the water requirements of the golf course.
A. Water Allotments-five (5) irrigated acres per hole is the maximum acreage allotment, except when considering a previous water right allotment for surface water rights. The allotments presented in the table are for purposes of calculating the water balance for the facility and assume a seventy-five percent (75%) efficient irrigation system. If the applicant cannot meet the water requirements of a typical golf course with effluent, consideration will be given for a demonstration of reduced water use (for example, reducing the area irrigated).
Type of Use |
Water Allotment Facilities at 4,000 to 5,500 feet above MSL (ac-ft/acre) |
Water Allotment Facilities at 3,000 and up to 4,000 feet above MSL (ac-ft/acre) |
Turf |
4.9 |
5.2 |
New Turf (1st year) |
5.9 |
6.2 |
Artificial Lakes |
5.5 |
5.8 |
Low Water Use Landscaping |
1.5 |
1.5 |
B. Leaching Requirement-Turf may require the occasional leaching of salts from the root zone. Although treated effluent may not be as efficient as groundwater, even low quality water can be appropriately used for leaching. If the applicant believes that a leaching allotment is necessary, the applicant will have to demonstrate a sufficient amount of renewable water supply. The standard equation utilizing electrical conductivity of the water shall be used to compute the leaching requirement.
1. Additional Leaching =(1/(1-(ECw/(5ECe-ECw)))-1)*CU/.75Allotment
2. Where: ECw = Electrical Conductivity of the water used ECe =Tolerance of the crop to soil salinity in electrical conductivity of the soil saturation extract (millimhos per centimeter) CU = Consumptive use of the crop.
C. Effective Precipitation - Precipitation that is effective in offsetting the irrigation water demands is included in the water allotments in the table above. Consideration will be given if the applicant can demonstrate an additional amount of precipitation is effective in offsetting irrigation demands.
D. Additional Precipitation Allowance - If the applicant plans to capture additional runoff or off-site precipitation for use on the golf course, the applicant shall demonstrate adequate storage capacity, probability and volume of the captured water, and legal right to conduct the capture activity.
E. Effluent Production - The standard water requirements of a new housing development shall be computed according to the standard water use rates specified in the Prescott AMA Third Management Plan. Only the interior water use requirements (interior gallons per capita-day) will be considered to be a contribution to the effluent re-use system. Outside water use will be considered lost and non-recoverable. An average value of 2.5 persons per household will be the standard housing unit occupancy level. Consideration will be given if the applicant has good evidence that the development water use and effluent capture rates are different from the values presented.
Type of Residential Unit | Interior Gallons per Capita-day | Average Persons per Housing Unit | Exterior use (Gallons per Housing Unit per Day) | Total Water Use per Housing Unit (Gallons per Day) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Single Family Homes | 57 | 2.5 | 75 | 217.5 |
Town Homes | 57 | 2.5 | 58 | 200.5 |
F. Seasonal fluctuations-Typical golf course water requirements have a peak water use period during the hot-dry part of the summer that is much greater than the average annual water use. However, effluent production does not typically match this high peak. The applicant should demonstrate that available effluent is sufficient to meet the summer peak water use requirements of the golf course (approximately 1 acre-foot/acre during the one month period from June 15-July 15, or 3 acre-feet/day for a 90 acre golf course). (Prior code § 4-17-4)