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Given the growing water shortage, water reuse is vital for the sustainability of golf in Portugal. In addition to meeting the water needs of vegetation cover, Water for Reuse (ApR) provides valuable nutrients for fertilisation. However, in order to safeguard public health and the environment and mitigate risks such as soil salinity, it is necessary to design water reuse systems for golf course irrigation taking into account the specificities of the sector: maintaining playability requirements, potential user contact with ApR, the role of storage lakes in enhancing water quality, and adapting risk management barriers to the context of these sports fields. 

Regulation and standardisation are essential to ensure confidence in the safety of water for reuse and to promote its social acceptance. To this end, the ISO 16075-7:2025 standard ‘Guidelines for the use of treated wastewater in irrigation projects - Part 7: Golf courses and other sports fields’ was recently published. 

On 14 May, LNEC will host the course ‘Water reuse in golf course irrigation - Risk assessment’, which will present a rapid methodology for the qualitative assessment of risk in the reuse of water for non-potable uses. Its application in golf course irrigation will be illustrated through practical group exercises. It is aimed at managers and technicians from entities responsible for golf course management, technicians from public entities, consultants, designers, master's and doctoral students, and others interested in the subject.  

Find more information HERE.