TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – It has taken years to get there, but the Omni Tucson National Resort is now using treated wastewater on its golf courses.

According to a Pima County memo released this week, the resort is using 225-acre feet of wastewater annually which meets its obligations to the county.

That’s enough for about 500 homes in the Tucson area.

“If you were to open a golf course today, the expectation is you are going to have to find a way to use reclaimed water from the get go,” said Chris Poirier, the deputy director for planning services in Pima County.

But the Omni was opened in 1962, long before the current water rules were in place as are at many golf courses in the Tucson area.

It’s not until those courses seek to make changes that the county has a chance to put new conditions in place.

Omni wanted to rezone for new housing.

“So they came in for the rezoning starting in 2003,” Poirier said. “Took a while to get through the process and that’s when the expectation called the zoning condition was put into place.”

That zoning condition was switching from groundwater to treated wastewater which the resort agreed to in order to build new housing around the golf course.

But the process took years because the county kept giving the course exemptions so as not to disrupt the highly profitable Cologuard Classic held there and until enough wastewater could be delivered by Metro Water to meet its needed quota.

“So when you flush the toilet, if we can get some of that back, why aren’t we?” Poirier said. “So ah, the golf course is a great example of a safe way of using effluent water. It’s common sense.”

Still, it wasn’t until the county threatened a lawsuit two years ago and the golf tournament moved to another course that the Omni finally fulfilled its promise.

“Previous boards had given multiple extensions and our board said look we don’t want to mess with the Cologuard Classic but this is it, this is the last extension,” said District 1 Supervisor Rex Scott. “And they understood that and did what they needed to do.”

That was announced this week in a memo from the County Administrator Jan Lesher that Omni was now in compliance.

So the county will look elsewhere to see where more progress can be made. The county is discussing land use planning at the moment so it’s a good time to discuss water use.

“I’ve asked for an updated list of which golf courses in the county are still using groundwater for irrigation,” Scott said. “I think it is a rapidly diminishing list but we’re not at the point where we’re at 100%.”

Be sure to subscribe to the 13 News YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@13newskold

Copyright 2024 13 News. All rights reserved.