For Marlborough Golf Club the recently-invoked hosepipe ban doesn’t mean that the greens turn brown and dry up. No. Marlborough Golf Club use their own water, from their own borehole so rather than spray ‘Thames Water’, they sprinkle ‘Marlborough Golf Club Water’ on the greens. A 60m deep borehole means that the club is self-sufficient regarding water provision.
Marlborough Golf Club are doing what any enterprising and resourceful business or organisation should do – respecting their clients, delivering what they need to deliver (green Greens and a course fit for golfers), whilst also respecting the community by not using what for us as Thames Water customers is fast becoming a depleted resource – water……
Rick Bodenham, Chair of Greens at Marlborough Golf Club explained, “We have a tank with getting on for a quarter of a million litres capacity which is ample for the needs of our groundstaff. But the drought has focused our minds as to what else we can do and we are now investigating how to best capture the thousands of litres of rainwater that fall on the Clubhouse roof each year to enable us to recycle it to the benefit of our floral displays and practice areas”.
So they aim to do what water companies should also do – look to ensure supply to their customer base. Many do, but not Thames Water. Wessex Water, who serve customers just to the west of Marlborough haven’t instituted a hosepipe ban because they haven’t needed to. They focus their supply on ground water, the aquifers rather than extracting from rivers. If the drought were to continue to a longer term then maybe that would change but at this stage there is sufficient supply for those paying their bills.
Thames Water could do the same, they do take from the ground but they haven’t invested in this recently as that would cost, and so much of what should be invested in their system, what we pay, goes to service their debt mountain, money that was borrowed that was then extracted as dividends by their shareholders, led by the Australian ‘financial vampire’ Macquarie.
And Thames Water are at the front of the ‘Polluters list’. Recently criticised along with Yorkshire Water and Southern Water (another Macquarie company) they shove raw sewage out into the watercourses that flow through our land. The Kennet is frequently polluted by Thames Water discharges. So we all suffer from this as well as their restricted supply of water and excessive bills. What can we do? Nothing, we would be summoned to the Courts and convicted if we either refuse to pay, or decide to pay a smaller and more reasonable amount.
But Marlborough Golf Club are showing the way forward. The Common, their area is an enterprising place for sports clubs. At one edge is Marlborough Tennis, the recently acclaimed ‘Club of the Year’ by the Lawn Tennis Association. At the opposite edge of the Common is Marlborough Rugby. A small club but punching way above it’s weight. Limited resources but attracting good crowds on matchdays, with a very healthy and growing youth (boys and girls) section, they are now in the 5th level Nationally. As a comparison, Swindon Town Football Club, with its County Ground stadium in Swindon and big infrastructure, is National Level 4 – in League 2. One level difference nationally to that of Marlborough Rugby. So Marlborough’s Common is an area for Sporting enterprise. Each club there doing something that is different, excellent, great for their town, but above all, they are achieving. And also, last but not least, the (extremely) popular Park Run that takes place around The Common every Saturday morning.
Big credit to Marlborough Golf Club for their foresight, only a couple of years ago, but a decision that helps the club and its members. And their responsibility to the community of Marlborough, not taking the town’s residents water, whilst enabling them to keep playing golf, on excellent surfaces.
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