Sustainability is the watchword at present and it is right that we should all be concerned about harming the environment and depleting natural resources.

One area of concern and which is covered by legislation is that of washing golf course machinery. The EU Water Framework Directive, due for implementation this year, is fast becoming the driving factor to address inadequacies at many golf greenkeeping facilities throughout Europe and beyond. The directive has been enshrined in law by EU member states and is enforced by government agencies; The Environment Agency in England for example. Severe penalties are attheir disposal to ensure compliance and to prevent pollution.


Unobtrusive ClearWater - all you see are turret tops set in the ground

Many golf courses have tackled greenkeeping wash-off issues but a number still need to act. So what are the points to consider?

Pollution Prevention is the main concern and hydrocarbons (oil, grease, diesel, petrol, etc.) found on every turf maintenance machine are not permitted to enter the groundwater. So, washing off to ground is just not permissible.

Water saving is a major consideration too. It has been calculated that in excess of half a million litres of water can be wasted each year on a typical eighteen hole course by wash-off. That is not only very costly to those paying for water but a terrible waste of a diminishing and increasingly valuable natural resource.

To address these two points and clearly demonstrate your investment in the environment and sustainability, the solution is to install a washpad water recycling system and a dedicated washpad. There are very few genuine full biological recycling systems on the market and, beware, some "solutions" do not actually recycle! Cost, safety, ease of operation and maintenance obviously are considerations too.

One recycling system that meets all legal requirements "ticking all the boxes" is ClearWater, a UK designed and manufactured system from Highspeed Group Ltd. ClearWater has the distinct advantage of being totally unobtrusive, as it is installed safely below ground. Unaffected by extremes of temperature and allaying worries over bacterial formation such as Legionella, ClearWater with its stable and low operating temperature is the ideal choice. ClearWater is well established in the UK and sales have expanded to Ireland, France, Germany and the USA in recent years with a further European expansion underway.

With membership renewals occurring and (in the UK) VAT refunds for some, is the time now right to play your part investing in Sustainability; reducing your impact on the environment, being more efficient and saving money?