Meadows Golf & Country Club in Watertown, N.Y., will turn off a nearby town’s access to its well after residents claimed the water use has dried up their wells. In Minneapolis, Hiawatha Golf Course has been pumping out 263 million gallons of groundwater annually into Lake Hiawatha, which is more than seven times the allowed amount.
The town of Pamelia, N.Y., has been using water from a well at the Highland Meadows Golf & Country Club in Watertown, N.Y., on and off for the past year and half, but that will be changing soon, the Watertown-based WWNY TV 7 reported.
Residents claim that taking water from the golf course has dried up their wells. Lynn Krafft is one of those residents and says he’s happy with the town’s decision, WWNY reported.
“This is a move in the right direction. I think I told the town board that the other night it’s good to see them start to work together and make decisions together,” said Krafft.
But before the town stops using water from the golf course, it needs fix its chlorination system. Allen said the town is already working on it, WWNY reported.
“The parts were already ordered yesterday. They’re en route so as soon as we can be ready to install everything, it’s already a work in progress,” said Town Supervisor Scott Allen.
Once the chlorination system is fixed, the town will be getting all its water from the Development Authority of the North Country, WWNY reported.
A stop to pumping water from Hiawatha Golf Course in Minneapolis, Minn., into Lake Hiawatha could end golf and flood basements, WCCO CBS Local Minnesota reported.
“As long as they’re pumping, our basements are all dry,” homeowner Stephanie Kubesh, who lives across the street from the course, said.
The trouble started when Minneapolis Parks and Recreation planners were trying to figure out how to rebuild the golf course after it flooded in June 2014. Water pumped from the course to Lake Hiawatha just went right back, WCCO reported.
“The problem with that is that it doesn’t just get pumped in there and then just go away. Some of it seeps back in, and so you get this kind of circular pattern that’s happening,” Kubesh said.
Michael Schroeder of Minneapolis Parks and Recreation said there is quite a difference in residency time of water between Hiawatha and other city lakes, WCCO reported.
“It’s like four to 11 days [for Lake Hiawatha]. When we compare that to Lake Calhoun it’s four years. So water is coming through from the creek all the time,” Schroeder said.
They discovered during their research that they were pumping out 263 million gallons of ground water annually. That is more than seven times the amount they are allowed. If pumping stops, that could mean no more golf course—and 18 homes near the course could deal with flooded basements, WCCO reported.
“We don’t have an upstairs, so it would take away half of our house if we couldn’t use our basement anymore,” Kubesh said. “And where would we put our furnace and all the stuff that’s in most people’s basements?”
There are more questions than answers at this point, as officials look for a fix that keeps the course open and homes dry. But there are temporary solutions being explored, WCCO reported.
“I think they’re going to be applying for a permit that will find some new normal. The problem is is that if the permit isn’t for how much they’ve been pumping, it could have serious impacts with our properties. We just don’t know what that’s going to be yet,” Kubesh said.
The Department of Natural Resources ultimately determines who may pump groundwater and how much, WCCO reported.
The park board is working with the city and Minnehaha Creek Watershed District to explore options for the situation involving both continuing to pump and turning off the pumps. The board says they are a long way away from finding a permanent solution, WCCO reported.
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