Doug,
Some clubs use many, many, many millions of gallons of water.
Without determining whether the gallons used are appropriate, let's take 30,000,000 as a number.
Water is no longer unregulated or unmetered when applied to a golf course.
More towns/counties and agencies are mandating the use of effluent water.
I used to know the cost of water in South Florida, in Palm Beach County, and will try to reaccess that info for you.
Perhaps Anthony Nysse can save me the trouble and list the current cost per gallon or per million gallons.
But, let's hypothesize that it costs 50 mils per gallon.
That's $ 150,000 per year.
If we double that to a penny a gallon that's $ 300,000 per year.
Two cents a gallon, $ 600,000 a year.
Now, the cost may be well below that, but, it's the volume that can be the killer.
Any small increase is magnifiied by the enormous volume used on golf courses.
Hence, the need for water should be evaluated more carefuly.
In South Florida, many, if not most clubs are populated by snow birds, residents from other states who visit Florida in the winter.
So, most members aren't Florida residents, ergo, they can't vote.
So, they're a perfect target for a "tax" increase in the form of higher water fees from the muniicpality/county supplying the water.
In addition, the cost to convert to effluent water is significant, and, the quality of the water can damage a golf course and the filtering system at the golf course end.
All clubs should examine their water usage, for a number of reasons, one of which is cost.
The other is "need".
I like brownish, yellowish, greenish looking fairways and greens, but, many, and probably most members don't.
So, there has to be a change in culture. That takes a tremendous educational and cultural effort and time.
But, A spike in water costs, would introduce the evaluation process almost immediately.