GOOD|GOAT Calls for a Reclaimed-Water Transition Plan at City Golf Courses
GOOD|GOAT is contrasting the City of Phoenix's own conservation messaging — the Mayor's Save Water Pledge, Stage 1 drought status — with the six municipal golf courses it owns: 16 times more reliant on groundwater than the City's drinking system, and zero reclaimed water in twenty-five years. GOOD|GOAT is calling on the City to adopt a reclaimed-water transition plan for the six courses.
The City of Phoenix asks residents to check for leaks four times a year and adjust sprinklers when it rains. Its own six municipal golf courses used 1.14 billion gallons of water in 2024, lean on groundwater sixteen times as heavily as the City's own drinking-water system, and have reported zero reclaimed water in any of the past twenty-five years.
The City is simultaneously investing in advanced water purification — a Cave Creek plant retrofit backed by roughly $179 million in federal funds — while Phoenix-area golf courses generally already average 21% reclaimed water and Prescott-area courses average 75%. These six City-owned courses remain at zero.
GOOD|GOAT's position: the City should adopt and publish a reclaimed-water transition plan for the six courses it owns. Full background, sourcing, and the underlying data are at /cases/water-say-vs-do.