06/07/2026
I little lesson in water quality 🤓 💦 Thanks to our agronomy team for always being willing to go the extra mile! 🙌🏼
💧 A Major Step Forward for River Hills Country Club💦🌊
One of the first things I do when arriving at a new property is start asking questions.
Not just about what we’re doing today—but why we’re doing it that way.
As many of you know, River Hills stopped using its deep irrigation wells around 2014-2015 and transitioned almost entirely to reclaimed water. While reclaimed water has become a common irrigation source throughout Florida, my Irrigation Team and I began investigating whether the original well system could be brought back online and used once again as a primary water source for the golf course.
What started as a simple question quickly turned into months of research, permit tracking, equipment inspections, electrical troubleshooting, pump testing, and countless hours spent uncovering infrastructure that had been dormant for over a decade.
Today, I’m excited to share that we are in the process of converting our irrigation storage system from reclaimed water back to well water.
And that’s a much bigger deal than it may sound.
The illustration below helps explain why.
Simply put, our water testing confirmed that the North and South Wells contain significantly lower sodium, lower chloride levels, and substantially more beneficial calcium than the reclaimed water we’ve been using for years.
Why does that matter?
Because every night when we irrigate, we’re not just watering grass—we’re influencing the chemistry of the soil beneath it.
Over time, reclaimed water tends to introduce higher levels of salts, sodium, chlorides, and bicarbonates into the soil profile. Those compounds can restrict root growth, reduce oxygen movement, slow water infiltration, and increase turf stress during Florida’s hottest months.
Our well water does the opposite.
Cleaner water promotes healthier soil structure, deeper rooting, better water movement, stronger drought tolerance, and healthier turfgrass overall.
In other words:
Healthier Water → Healthier Soil → Stronger Turf → Better Golf Conditions
This improvement doesn’t only benefit the golf course.
The same irrigation system supplies water to many common areas throughout the River Hills community, including portions of the parkway, roadways, and HOA-maintained landscapes. Better water quality means healthier soils and landscapes across the entire property.
Now, I want to set expectations appropriately.
This isn’t a light switch.
The golf course has been irrigated primarily with reclaimed water for roughly 12 years. Soil chemistry doesn’t change overnight. It will take approximately 4 to 8 weeks before we begin seeing measurable improvements, and several months before the full benefits become apparent.
But make no mistake—we will see those benefits.
This is one of those behind-the-scenes projects that most golfers will never physically see, but it has the potential to improve the golf course for years to come.
I couldn’t be more proud of the work our Irrigation Team has put into making this happen. Their persistence, creativity, and determination helped uncover an opportunity that had been overlooked for over a decade.
Sometimes the biggest improvements aren’t the ones you can immediately see.
They’re the ones happening beneath the surface.
Stay patient.
The transformation is coming.
🌱💧⛳
