Waste management - England Golf

The Maintenance Facility:
Best practice guide to the management of selected maintenance streams
Use of interceptors to treat
machinery washdown
water
At the time of writing there are three
commercially available closed loop
recycling systems available on the market
which will adequately cleanse machinery
washdown water of all organic and
inorganic waste prior to its re-use for
machinery washdown. The Clearwater
System (available through Highspeed
Lubricants), the Hydrascape and
Waste2Water are all available and can be
installed either in-house or by professional
contractors.
The use of a sealed underground
containment tank is another option. This
will involve the installation of a
underground sealed containment tank
large enough to handle the appropriate
amount of waste water and this will require
emptying on a regular basis by a licensed
contractor.
The release of organic waste through machinery washdown water into the
surrounding fresh water matrix will not only raise the biological oxygen demand
(BOD) of the water body, thus reducing the likelihood of aquatic life, but can also
result in the retention of partially fermented clippings resulting in high levels of
potassium leaching into water bodies, thus actively killing invertebrates and other
aquatic flora and fauna.
Legal issues surrounding washdown water
The Ground Water Regulations 1998 (as amended) prohibit the discharge of trade
effluent to ground or controlled sewer without a discharge licence (available from
the Environment Agency). Therefore, all golf clubs currently allowing machinery
washdown water to be discharged without licence are breaking the law. This does
not mean that a ‘one size fits all’ interceptor or recycling system is required for
every golf club, however some form of treatment and licence must be acquired.
The Water Framework Directive (WFD), when fully implemented, will afford the
Environment Agency stricter controls regarding the pollution of ditches, streams,
rivers, ponds, etc. in relation to their ecological interest and it will be the WFD that
eventually forces all golf clubs into installing some form of waste water treatment
plant prior to re-use or discharge.
The installation of an appropriately
designed reedbed system to treat the
waste water prior to release into the local
fresh water matrix, or re-use as machinery
washdown water, is an option which is
rapidly increasing in popularity. A suitably
sized and well designed reedbed will not
only adequately treat and polish arising
waste water but will also create additional
ecological habitat and aesthetic interest for
the golf course. Reedbeds require minimal
maintenance and will not create
unpleasant odours, and in most cases will
be a valuable asset to the golf course.
Their incorporation into a Sustainable
Urban Drainage System (SUDS) may bring
about further aesthetic and strategic
interest to the golf course, whilst allowing
for management of all rainwater which falls
on the golf course and its controlled
release or storage for re-use.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Best Practice Approach for English and Welsh Golf Clubs
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