Old Colwyn Golf Club ran a hosepipe from their water storage for local residents to fill up for non-drinking use, while water supplies were halted by a broken pipe which took days to repair and for normal service to be restored.
Hundreds of residents took advantage of the free offer of help, the idea of club chair Arwel Williams with volunteers’ organiser Nicci Owen making the system work on the ground.
The effort followed a burst water pipe in Dolgarrog which ended up cutting off water supplies to 40,000 residents in the Colwyn Bay and Conwy area. While supplies of bottled water were made available, there was a shortage of water for flushing toilets and other household uses.
“We have 20,000 litres of water in our storage tank on the golf course and the local residents were struggling for sanitary water,” explained Williams. “We supplied 5,000 litres of water to more than 300 people over the two days to help out for sanitary purposes. The greenkeeper ran a 200-metre pipe to reach the road and Nicci Owens organised a group of 10 volunteers from the club to help on a rota system through the days when the supply was cut off.
“We are a volunteer-based golf club and very much a community club. For instance, we offer free golf lessons to all the juniors in the area and anybody under the age of 12 can play our course for free. So, this was just an extension of that approach. As soon as we heard the county was without water, then we knew we could help. Our water is for use on the course over the summer so it is not treated drinking water, but it could still help people flush their toilets and so on.”
Colwyn Ward County Borough Councillor, Cheryl Carlisle, summed up the gratitude in the community for the efforts of the nine-hole golf club.
“I just wanted to thank Old Colwyn Golf Club for the contribution they made to our community, providing their stored water for the rest of the village to use,” she said. “It was hugely helpful for people to be able to collect the water. The burst water main meant there was no water for a few days, 40,000 people were affected including 3,500 in the Old Colwyn area. It was a real crisis and the community spirit was amazing.”
Old Colwyn Golf Club’s water storage means they have greater sustainability in making sure the course is in good condition over the summer, while they have also received a recent Sport Wales grant to improve drainage on the course. That in turn means there is no overspill into the local housing during periods of heavy rain, while being able to help out in the recent crisis was a bonus of the club’s water management.
“Old Colwyn sum up what a community golf club means, they are very much at the heart of their community,” said Wales Golf Head of Facilities and Sustainability, Dilwyn Griffiths. “It was a great effort for them to help out, but that is the sort of club they are. The contribution they make to junior golf in the area is impressive, and a good example of the approach they take.
“Golf clubs organising their water collection in storage tanks is good practice for all sorts of reasons related to sustainability and the environment, but had the happy side effect of being able to help out in this case.”
