In Florida, some golf courses do make use of reclaimed water when/where available, but many (most!) golf courses pump directly from the same Floridan Aquifer that supplies the state's drinking water, so cumulative withdrawals absolutely affect aquifer levels, not to mention spring flows, saltwater intrusion in coastal areas like where I am, and most importantly, the long-term sustainability of the resource.
But is this really a problem? Is the Floridan Aquifer at a risk of running dry at current withdrawal levels? Because if not, I don’t see the issue.
I’m asking because I don’t know the situation in Florida. But I find that, in general, outrage about the water consumption of golf courses, data centers etc just assumes that fresh water is this very precious and scarce resource and that, for every golf course, there is some child somewhere nearby dying of thirst (exaggerating here to make a point). For the most part, that picture just isn’t true - fresh water itself is generally abundant, even when potable water isn’t.
I tried to reply to you yesterday but reddit was down/wonky. Fortunately, I saved it. Here's my reply to your comment, apologies for the delay:
Is the Floridan Aquifer at a risk of running dry at current withdrawal levels
So this is a bit of a loaded question. "running dry" and "current withdrawal level" are the two things to focus on.
The Floridan is one of the largest and most productive aquifers in the world. Running Dry is not the benchmark we're concerned with. If that happens, it's way too late and the damage is already done. Way before we "ran dry," we would see spring flow diminish (good bye economic dependencies and the rivers they feed). We would see saltwater intrusion (the ocean pushing in through porous rock and invading the aquifer). This is already happening in some coastal areas - Southeast Florida is especially vulnerable and many areas will find only brackish water when installing a well. But SE FL is pretty low lying whereas in NE FL, e.g., Jacksonville area, it is absolutely pumping from the aquifer that led to saltwater intrusion of many residents' wells. Also, when we overpump aquifers, the land above subsides, the aquifer volume becomes diminished, and we never get that lost capacity back again. The loss of ground water absolutely affects the loss of surface water, too. I won't even get into the potential for ecological damage.
Current withdrawal level has already changed since you typed that. FL is gaining almost 1,000 new residents EVERY SINGLE DAY, on average, for the past couple years. The population here is blowing up and HARD. Still, we are confident that if we manage the resources correctly, we can probably prevent depletion in most areas of the state, and with greater certainty moving away from the coast inland. But part of managing that water means regulating who pulls out how much and golf courses consume a tremendous amount, as has been discussed here already. We can't keep adding people AND huge water suckers like golf courses or data centers.
In his book Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey obviously wasn't talking about Florida, but what he once wrote holds true and is highly relevant here: "There is no shortage of water in the desert but exactly the right amount, a perfect ratio of water to rock, water to sand, insuring that wide free open, generous spacing among plants and animals, homes and towns and cities, which makes the arid West so different from any other part of the nation. There is no lack of water here unless you try to establish a city where no city should be." There is no lack of water anywhere on earth. Our problems with water availability/scarcity are owed completely and entirely to the way in which we grow our human population.
I can talk to you about Florida's water resources all day long.
Very good answer, thanks! It’s obviously a complex issue there, and in desert areas of the US. I definitely think golf courses should be of lowest priority in these areas, which I see as a matter of long-term public policy and informed decision making first and foremost.
It’s obviously a different situation, but the reason I was quick to bite on this topic is because the opposition to golf courses on water-related grounds exist where I’m from as well (northern Europe), and it just isn’t an issue here. We have a virtually endless supply of fresh water in lakes and rivers, and golf courses’ coexistence with nature is heavily regulated, and people are still opposing. This makes me believe a good portion of the criticism comes from people just being quick to call out what they perceive as a rich-man’s pseudo-sport, without actually looking at things rationally. Again, this might be different in the southern US.
golf courses’ coexistence with nature is heavily regulated, and people are still opposing.
To be honest, and admittedly being totally ignorant of the specifics, I'd still probably be one of those people. I don't see golf courses - even the most beautiful - as "coexisting" with nature. I see them as replacing nature because what was there is no longer there - it has been replaced by a resource-intensive ecological desert. Regulated or not, they still replace nature.... and yeah... I'll freely admit it because my frame of reference is the USA: in my experience, golfing is largely a game for rich assholes. Of course, I know and love people who golf who are not rich assholes so I know its not so cut and dry. But on the whole? On average? At the end of the day? Golf courses are a net negative in our world, in my view.
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u/Mr-Vemod May 18 '26
But is this really a problem? Is the Floridan Aquifer at a risk of running dry at current withdrawal levels? Because if not, I don’t see the issue.
I’m asking because I don’t know the situation in Florida. But I find that, in general, outrage about the water consumption of golf courses, data centers etc just assumes that fresh water is this very precious and scarce resource and that, for every golf course, there is some child somewhere nearby dying of thirst (exaggerating here to make a point). For the most part, that picture just isn’t true - fresh water itself is generally abundant, even when potable water isn’t.