With the region’s water resources constantly under pressure, the Sardinia Bay Golf & Wildlife Estate in Gqeberha is ensuring that every last drop of its reclaimed water counts.
The Homeowners’ Association, which includes developer Pete Featonby-Smith, recently approved the construction of an irrigation dam as an additional water source for the nine-hole golf course’s tees and greens.
Work on the reservoir, positioned adjacent to the golf course near the fourth hole, started in June with the bulk of the project completed by July.
Estate manager Hugh Wiblin explains that 30 000 litres of wastewater are channelled into the onsite water treatment works every day.
“I have to get rid of it because you can’t keep storing it and the best way is to use it on the golf course, so we decided to build the dam for irrigation purposes.
“We started with the greens and tee boxes and will eventually do the fairways as well as more and more water comes into the plant.”
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Wiblin says the dam is positioned in what he terms a “dead area” of the estate.
“It’s not a water feature for the course; it’s purely an irrigation asset,” he points out.
“We don’t want it to be filled with golf balls so it has been set off the course. We will assign a diver once a year to remove stray balls that ends up in there.”
The dam has a liner consisting of one-millimetre-thick recycled plastic strips, all glued together. It is fed through newly laid pipes that link it to other installations on the estate.
“It stores about 400 000 litres and took about a week or so to fill up,” says Wiblin. “Now it is just a matter of topping it up regularly.”
His team also created a metre-and-a-half band of rocks around the dam to ensure animals don’t have random access.
“Because, although the plastic bottom is strong, they could tear it with their hooves if they slip on it.
“We built a concrete apron leading into the dam in one area to provide access for animals and therefore it doubles as an additional watering hole on the estate.”
As with the other ponds, tilapia fish have been placed in the dam to help clear algae and mosquito fern.
“We had plenty of those and simply transferred them to this dam. Also, we created a small island where ducks can safely lay their eggs,” adds Wiblin.
The irrigation dam is yet another step in the estate’s ongoing programme to create the best possible conditions for the course.
Golf club manager Steve Daly says the estate is constantly working to level the fairways by covering them with topsoil, while there are extensive improvements to the fourth and sixth tee boxes.
“These tee boxes are fairly small and that results in a lot of wear and tear. So we have extended them both and created retaining walls to keep the front from dropping away.
“It has allowed us to level the tee boxes and to provide different options to place the tees,” he says.
“They are in the growing phase at the moment, with measures in place to protect them from any frost, and should be ready for use by September.”