For the first time in my 30+ years in the golf course maintenance business, I attended a local chapter meeting where the guest speakers were from the state water authority. Yes, I know that all of you in the Southwest have been doing this for a long time, but here in the Southeast, this was a first for me. The Gulf Coast Chapter hosted a meeting in Gulf Shores, Alabama, where the primary speakers were from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) who oversee the waters of our state. There was plenty of information for all the attendees to absorb during the meeting and plenty of questions asked to the presenters. While the nuts and bolts of water use in the state was the main topic, perhaps the most important aspect of the meeting was that both sides of water use in the state, government and industry, were sharing ideas on best management practices, permitting and water use in general. Don't get me wrong, I'm not implying that there is a bad relationship between golf and ADEM here in Alabama, but there really wasn't any relationship between the two. Thankfully, it looks like times are changing.
As the Alabama GCSA begins working on the process of updating the Best Management Practices for Golf in the state, they will have a very willing and important partner, ADEM. It wasn't long ago that the last person you wanted to see at your facility was someone from ADEM because it probably meant that there was a complaint or a problem that would potentially be difficult to resolve and probably expensive to fix. It looks like those times are changing and that's a good thing for everyone involved because, at the end of the day, everyone wants the same thing: a healthy environment to raise our families in. It's about time we break down the barriers that have kept us from working together in the past and move forward in cooperation.
