California’s drought has dried up several opportunities for outdoor fun, but some locations have made adjustments to keep recreation rolling this summer season.
Golfers at the Los Feliz Municipal Golf Course have had to putt around construction for months as improvements were made both on the green, and under it, in an effort to save water.
The grand re-opening of the course Monday introduced a fully automated recycled water system throughout the 15-acre facility. Six acres of thirsty grass have also been replaced by drought resistant landscaping, officials said.
Officials at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said, all told, 5.5 million gallons of water will be saved annually due to the changes. The water saved would be enough to fill eight Olympic-sized swimming pools or "enough drinking water for about 170 Los Angeles residents to use for an entire year," Jim McDaniel, senior assistant general manager of Water Systems for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said.
L.A. Councilman Tom LaBonge was among those who attended the relaunch of the course, and he reiterated the importance of saving water in the midst of California’s water shortage.
“We have to conserve water,” LaBonge said. “We have before we gotta do it again in a more meaningful way the drought has really affected us.”
- Running Dry: Drought Maps, Water Crisis in Images
Officials said the Los Feliz course is now the sixth golf course in Los Angeles running on recycled water.
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The recycled water comes from the Los Angeles-Glendale Water Reclamation Plant and is funneled through the colorful Purple Pipe Network, which also serves local parks and hospitals.
More has to be done, however, to achieve the DWP’s goal of recycled water making up 10 percent of water use. Current numbers put the total at around 1 to 2 percent.
