Sports Turfgrass Fertilizer
How do Sports Relate to a Spring’s Water Quality?
Scientists from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection developed a modeling tool to figure out what is negatively impacting the water quality in our springs and found that the top two contributors to reduced water quality are nitrogen from septic tanks and urban turfgrass (also known as residential) fertilizers. A relatively smaller contribution of nutrients was determined to be from Sports Turfgrass Fertilizers including Golf Courses.
How did this happen?
Golf courses and sporting facilities such as baseball, football, soccer, and other fields use fertilizer to keep their turfgrass growing. Leaching of nitrogen from this fertilizer can occur with the use of certain products or irrigation practices.
While the County’s fertilizer ordinance does not apply to golf courses or athletic fields, sports facilities are required to follow Best Management Practices (BMPs).
What can I do?
- Check with your sports facility to make sure they are using Best Management Practices for their Industry.
- Florida Department of Environmental Protection Best Management Practices Manual for Golf Courses: Best Management Practices for Florida Golf Courses
- Ask your sports facility to consider joining the Green sports Alliance.
- Ask your sports facility to consider joining the Green sports Alliance:
“The Alliance works to increase the implementation of greening initiatives and projects across sports and corporate members in order to create positive impact. The alliance provides educational resources across seven program areas which are water, energy, venue, waste, food, transportation, and procurement: Green Sports Alliance programs - Promote and encourage applications for awards for green practices:
- The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf “is an award winning education program that helps golf couses protect our environment an preserve the natural heritage of the game of golf. Audubon International has developed Standard Environmental Management Practices that are generally applicable to all golf courses. These standards form the basis for ACSP for Golf certification guidelines.”
- Golf Course Superintendents Association of America: Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards
- United States Golf Association
What is the County doing?
- The county is implementing BMPs for all the sports facilities and fields we manage.
- When we fertilize, we are utilizing slow release fertilizers to maintain a safe and healthy stand of turf.
- We also follow Integrated Pest Management practices
Integrated Pest Management of North America
University of Florida-IFAS-Landscape Integrated Pest Management
