Golf courses struggling to keep the fairways green

GOLF COURSES are struggling to meet their water demands as drought looms over the island as a result of the scorching summer.

Clubs are now searching for alternative irrigation methods after having been asked to do so by the Cyprus Water Board.

The irrigation of golf courses, football fields and other outdoor sports facilities have in the past been targeted as one of the main causes of the island’s dwindling water reserves
The Water Board issued a warning on Tuesday noting the possibility of water cuts in Paphos due to the current water shortage, with the area’s largest reservoir of Asprokremmos at just 26 per cent of capacity.

A spokesman stated that golf courses in Paphos were only receiving 30 per cent of the water they required due to current conditions.

Secret Valley Golf Club general manager Stelios Patsalides said that while some clubs were relying on their own reserves, others were only receiving some of the water they required. As a result, some sections were being left without irrigation with the hope of rainfall come October.
“As far as I know, Secret Valley and Aphrodite Hills are only receiving about 30 per cent of the water they need,” said Patsalides, noting that others like Tsada had their own reserves.
He said golf clubs were waiting for government approval on the development of a desalination plant that would cater to the water requirements of the island’s golf courses.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.