Community Understanding of the Use of Alternative Water Sources for Irrigation of Golf Courses: Ku-ring-gai Council Case Study

As Australian cities have grown, the demand for potable water has gone close to matching, and in more recent times has exceeded, the sustainable supply. Whilst many water authorities procrastinate on constructing new supply schemes, others are increasingly turning to demand management and alternative supply options to achieve a more sustainable balance. New initiatives rely on customer acceptance, understanding and appreciation of the limited supply of potable water and the proposed alternatives. This research project assessed community awareness of and receptivity toward a proposal to use alternative water sources to irrigate two golf courses. The project was based in the Ku-ring-gai Council local government area, located in the northern region of Sydney. The results were also compared against a 2004 social research study that investigated community receptivity to using rainwater and grey water as alternative domestic water services. The results reveal very strong support for the use of alternative water supplies for irrigation of golf courses. Public health was the major issue identified by respondents that could affect the feasibility of the proposed water recycling scheme. Users of the golf course were slightly more supportive than residents, and were also more concerned with the cost of such a proposal. A comparison of data from this project with the 2004 study showed slightly higher levels of acceptance of the use of alternative water as a potable supply. While the use of recycled water for various domestic purposes was not specifically examined in this current study, the results suggest a growing understanding, awareness and confidence in the use of new technologies to meet urban water demands. 

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