I have been approached by several Members and invitees lately asking about the longevity and availability of water for Arrowhead Country Club. My assumption is this concern has surfaced due to the recent publicity surrounding several of our fellow private clubs and the rapidly elevating costs of water they are currently facing and leaving them with some very tough operational decisions that potentially jeopardize their future.
The short answer is that we are part of a water amenities group called Arrowhead Ranch Water Amenities which is in a contractual partnership with the City of Glendale. That contract is in the form of a long term lease that has no ending date.
Now the long answer. Arrowhead Country Club is one of currently twenty participants in the water amenities group. These participants are made up of area Apartment, Condominium and Home Owners Associations. Voting rights with in amenities are distributed by water usage. Amenities is run by a five member board of directors with 2 positions being filled by Arrowhead Club Management, 1 position filled by election of the home owners of Arrowhead Lakes and 2 positions filled by ballot vote of the remaining involved associations. The purpose of the board is to maintain relations with all involved associations while providing high quality water at the best price possible to it's members.
What that means to Arrowhead. We have an indefinite supply of water at reasonable rates due to the hard work of the Water Amenities Board. As a board member, we have trimmed insurance and operating costs providing a lower cost to all participating associations. Make no mistake that water is our single largest golf course maintenance expense next to payroll coming in at about $200,000 annually. While that is a substantial amount of money, when compared to some of the $300,000 to $1,000,000 annual water budget horror stories, we remain in very good territory. There will always be water challenges in this area. We are not immune to those challenges but through our affiliation with Water Amenities we have addressed the challenges thus far in a proactive manner to the benefit of the Club and all our participating associations.
It may interest you to know in addition to the budget numbers above, Arrowhead Country Club was built prior to the 80 acre maximum irrigation requirement. That said, we occupy approximately 185 total acres and for those of you who travel to other courses can attest, we are not only a traditional wall-to-wall grass facility...we are a very large wall-to-wall grass facility. In summer we irrigate approximately 160 acres of turf, during the over seeded cooler months we irrigate approximately 90 acres. When you think of watering 160 acres of turf in 110 plus degree temperatures, it is easy to see why we are the largest single user of water in Water Amenities and why it was critical for the developing partners at the Club's origination to secure a long term water supply which we will continue to benefit the Club from now and into our future.
The water we pump from the City of Glendale is made up effluent, reclaimed and potable water from 3 or 4 pumping stations depending on the time of year. Considering the blend, our water quality is very good. It is rated as A+ quality which is the highest rating and while high in sodium and nitrates, it is probably some of the best quality irrigation water in the greater Phoenix area.
I won't get into more detail here. I will close this entry by saying if you are interested in learning more about our water situation or anything else related to the Club, please give me a call or stop by the office.
See you at the Club!
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