A Texas golf course located on a US naval base is switching from potable to recycled water using effluent from the base.

Around 80 million gallons of treated sewage effluent (TSE) from the Naval Airbase at Corpus Christi will be directed to the nearby Gulf Winds golf course each year. The water was previously discharged into the Laguna Madre and ultimately into the Gulf of Mexico.

Around US$2 million has been spent on new pipelines and pumping equipment to transport the water from the Laguna Madre wastewater plant to the golf course. The city of Corpus Christi put up half the money, with the naval station meeting the rest, but according to station public information officer Bob Torres, it is money well spent. “This is going to be a huge cost savings for us,” Torres told the Corpus Christi Caller Times. “It just makes a lot of sense.”

The switch to effluent water is expected to save the golf course around US$300,000 each year, and the city will also save money from reduced water treatment.

Corpus Christi now has four courses using TSE for irrigation, and the city has plans to make the water available to courses all over the area. Three other local courses could get access to TSE in the near future as part of a US$5.5 million project.