Oregon Public Broadcasting

There's a new crop growing in the Palouse. It's grass -- 100 acres of it.

It's a world-class golf course on the campus of Washington State University. Many golfers are excited. But the green swath of hills has tee'd off environmentalists that say Pullman's ancient aquifer is being drawn down too quickly.

Correspondent Anna King visited the new course to bring us this story.

Todd Lupkes: "There's Moscow Mountain, and I wish I had the other names of the peaks memorized yet but I don't."

Todd Lupkes points out the peaks from the highest point on the new Palouse Ridge Golf Course.

Todd Lupkes stands on the highest bluff of the new Palouse Ridge Golf Course in Pullman, Washington.

Todd Lupkes: "We've got the airport; we're practically looking down on the runways. The whole thing is green. There are red-tailed hawks, about 20 live on site."

It's obvious Lupkes spends a lot of time out here. His face is weathered from the sun and wind. He started golfing when he was 8. Now Lupkes runs this course. He was busy getting it ready for the grand opening of the practice driving range.

The full 100-acre course is set to open at the end of the summer. But not everyone is enthusiastic about the golf course.

Environmentalists say it uses too much precious water from the aquifer that sits underneath Pullman. In fact, several conservation groups and a private citizen brought a suit against the university saying WSU is being irresponsible.

Rachael Paschal Osborn: "And using that water to irrigate a golf course is pretty cheeky if you get right down to it."

That's Rachael Paschal Osborn. The lawyer for the environmental groups says the golf course is symptomatic of a larger issue.

Rachael Paschal Osborn: "And the issue is that the water levels are dropping and using that water, 20,000 year old water by the way, what we call fossil waters, it's not being recharged, it's not being replaced, we're just mining the aquifer."

There's debate on whether the aquifer is being recharged. And golf course manager Todd Lupkes says the university is doing a good job. The campus is using less water now than it did 20 years ago.

The new golf course uses roughly double the amount of water the old golf course did, but it uses that water more efficiently. It has a special sprinkler system, where each sprinkler head can be individually controlled.

Todd Lupkes: "Are we concerned about water usage? Absolutely. It's our number one concern. That's why we put in a $2-million irrigation system in to make sure that we use it better than anybody. There is not a better water user in the region than us."

The water war was debated before the state Pollution Control Hearings Board. The board ruled in favor of the university. That means WSU can consolidate several water rights into one larger one and draw out of any well it chooses.

Attorney Pasquel Osborne says she's appealing the decision.

Back at the course, Lupkes says the rolling hills of turf means millions to WSU and Pullman.

Todd Lupkes: "You think about every golfer that is going to come through here in the next three to five years, the next five year period. How many millions of dollars is that going to bring to Pullman. They are going to go play golf and then they are going to go out to dinner."

And Lupkes says the golf course wouldn't have to use water from the aquifer at all. That's if the state funds a nearly $16-million water reclamation project for the university in its next session in Olympia.

For now, Lupkes says he busy enough getting his turf to grow and anticipating his future visitors.