The Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Venice Golf and Country Club have agreed to jointly fund a project to recycle stormwater for irrigation purposes.
The project consists of the design and construction of an alternate stormwater outfall, which will divert stormwater from the club’s property to a pond operated by Sarasota County where it will be stored for irrigation needs.
By using the recycled stormwater as an irrigation source, nutrients in the water will also be recycled and re-applied to the turf grass and landscaped areas. Recycling the nutrients will decrease the amount of nutrients that reach the Myakka River, old Blackburn Canal and Charlotte Harbor, which will improve water quality.
This project will offset 446,000 gallons per day (gpd) of groundwater and reclaimed water currently used for irrigation. By using recycled stormwater as an irrigation source, other irrigation users may use the 349,000 gpd of reclaimed water not used by the golf course.
This project, which is being funded by the Venice Golf and Country Club and the District’s Manasota Basin Board, is estimated to cost $165,512. The Basin Board’s share will be up to $81,245. Construction is scheduled to begin in March and be complete within a year.
Sarasota County is in the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA), a 5,000-mile area where overuse of groundwater and the resulting saltwater intrusion are threatening groundwater resources.