Did You Know? UPDATED July 5 2025

In light of the recent news about blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in the big lake, here is a note I wrote last summer.  We are on the same pace this year with our course inputs and I am confident that the golf course is actually a filter for the big lake and not a contributor to any of its issues.  It should be noted that we have not had any issues with the 13 ponds on the golf course.  Here is last year's note....

As we get into the meat of the season, it's predictable that the community will experience a repeat of things typically associated with summer.  Namely pond levels and water quality.  Often times the golf course gets mentioned/blamed in conversations when anything is out of whack relative to water.  It's true that we fertilize the turf and it's true we use water.  However, we are good stewards of the environment and take great pride in our role in the community.  

You might not know this, but Fawn Lake was the first golf course in Virginia to earn the designation "Certified Cooperative Sanctuary" by Audubon International.   Additionally, we follow a strict diet prescribed through a Certified Nutrient Management Plan.  Extensive regular soil testing by a Certified Nutrient Management Planner gives us a clear picture of what is needed and how much we can apply.  We actually apply far less than this program prescribes.  This year so far we have applied exactly ZERO fertilizer to any of the fairways and roughs which make up about 95% of the 185 Acre club property.  We apply tiny amounts of low dose fertility to greens and tees which only total about 4% of the property.  It's safe to say that the golf course uses far less fertilizer pound for pound than any homeowner in the neighborhood.  We will be making our first fertilizer application of the year to fairways in the next week.  We will cover 40 acres with 11 bags of product through the sprayer.  1/10th of a pound of Nitrogen will be applied per 1000 sq ft.  That may be all we use for the season in fairways.  If the big lake suffers any algae blooms it will not be because of an over fertilized golf course.  

In addition to water quality concerns, water quantity is often a hot topic this time of year.  Ponds and the big lake can get low from time to time.  The golf course has a permit from VADEQ (VA Dept. of Environmental Quality) to withdraw water from the lake.  We use far less than the permit allows.  All water used to irrigate the course comes from the big lake.  We often get complaints about the pond levels on the course and some around the community, but we do not take any water from those ponds.  We do, however, transfer water from the big lake into those ponds.  Homeowners are the only water users of the ponds you see on the course and around the community.  Much (maybe most) of the water we pump from the big lake goes to fill ponds.  We use about 4" of the big lake each year.  Our impact on the water quantity in the big lake is negligible and our impact on the water quantity of the ponds on the course is only positive. 

We have a really good story to tell and hope that when this summer's water related headaches return, that you will reference people to this note.  We are the "good guys".