January 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 24

Member to Member
Leveraging the Assets of Oregon's
Middlefield Golf Course
By Kris Ammerman

iddlefield Golf Course, a 5,200-yard, 18-hole executive course,
has been owned by the city of Cottage Grove, Oregon, since
2006. In that time, we've made a few changes that have leveraged its assets and turned it into a major community resource.
Middlefield is often referred to by patrons and passersby as a " fun little course "
or a beautiful setting to introduce visitors to the small town of Cottage Grove.
It is literally a welcome mat, as Interstate 5 runs right through the middle of the
golf course, making it the first sight for visitors and travelers.
Water Conservation
The city of Cottage Grove's purchase
of Middlefield was more than just a
land-sale agreement of a recreational
hot spot for local golf enthusiasts. The
idea was to purchase the golf course to
solve one of the city's pending wastewater woes and bring the city into
compliance with government wastewater regulations. Prior to purchasing
Middlefield, the city was discharging its effluent water into a tempera-

ture-limited stream (Coast Fork of
the Willamette). However, with future
tightening of government regulations,
this was not going to continue to be
an option. One solution was to build
a cooling tower to cool the effluent
water during the summer months, but
with projected costs in excess of $1
million, the city began to think about
alternative solutions.
In 2006, I had been to the Golf
Industry Show in Orlando where I

Children and families enjoy the added
soccer/disc golf amenity, which opens up
Middlefield Golf Course to more members
of the community.

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saw first-hand how some golf courses there were using effluent water for
irrigation. City Manager, Richard
Meyers, asked me about the feasibility of purchasing Middlefield and
irrigating it with the reclaimed water.
Doing so was estimated to be less
costly than building a cooling tower,
and it would be a city asset.
Since the golf course and wastewater
treatment plant are in close proximity
to each other, this kept the costs down
on infrastructure improvements. The
physical work of trenching and installing pipe and valves in the ground
was the easiest part of the process. The
most difficult and time consuming part
was attaining the permit. The system
was functionally ready in 2008, but not
cleared by the U.S. Department off Environmental Quality for lawful operation until 2010.
It is not a perfect system, but none,
particularly retrofitted ones, are.
However, in addition to the million
dollar cost savings, we have the following tangible results:
* Approximately 50 million gallons
of fresh water are conserved every
irrigation season.
* Approximately 50 million gallons
of wastewater per season, previously discharged to the river, now
irrigates green space.
* Turfgrass is the best natural filter
of contaminants, such as nitrates
and phosphates, in water because it
actually uses and stores these and
other nutrients.

January 2016 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2016 - Parks & Recreation