The Director of Golf Course Operations from Rancho La Quinta CC and the Golf Course Superintendent of Toscana CC will be panelists at a community meeting, co-sponsored by the city of Indio, Calif. and The Desert Sun newspaper of Palm Springs, Calif., that is being held to encourage dialogue about water problems in the Coachella Valley and explore potential solutions.

Stu Rowland, Director of Golf Course Operations for Rancho La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif., and Rick Sall, Golf Course Superintendent of Toscana Country Club in Indian Wells
, Calif., will be panelists in a special community forum to be held on December 10 to continue dialogue about water problems, and potential solutions, in the Coachella Valley region of California.

This will be the second community forum held by the city of Indio, Calif. and The Desert Sun newspaper of Palm Springs, Calif., which recently published a series of articles documenting groundwater depletion in the region. The December 10 forum, titled “Golf Courses and Farms: Paths to Reducing Water Use,” is designed to focus specifically on the issue as it relates to golf courses and agriculture.

“What can golf courses and farms do to reduce their use of groundwater?” said an announcement in The Desert Sun, which described the event as “a discussion with local experts and representatives of golf courses and farms.”

Joining Rowland, who is also President of the Hi-Lo Golf Course Superintendents Association, and Sall as panelists at the free event, which will be held at 6 pm at the Indio Senior Center, will be Larry Bohannan, The Desert Sun’s golf writer; 
Patti Reyes, Manager of Planning and Special programs for the Coachella Valley Water District; Joan Taylor, Conservation Chair of the Tahquitz Group of the Sierra Club
, and Ellen Way, Co-President of California Women for Agriculture. Ian James, Environmental Reporter of The Desert Sun, will serve as moderator.

“Golf courses and farms are big water users in the Coachella Valley,” said The Desert Sun’s announcement. “What steps are they taking to conserve water? And how can golf courses and farms lessen their water footprints in the future, to help prevent declines in groundwater levels?”

The panel discussions at the forum will “feature participants with ideas to share about how water is used and how it can be better managed,” the announcement added.

The December 2013 issue of Club & Resort Business features the first of a special two-part series on the club industry’s growing role in water management. Part two of the series will appear in the February 2014 issue.