. One of the essential functions of lakes on golf courses is that they act as vital water reserves, especially during the summer months, allowing irrigation when weather conditions, in relation to rainfall, are more adverse.

. Lakes constitute the natural habitat of many species, which makes golf courses veritable reserves of native fauna and flora, highlighting their high environmental value.

The lakes present in golf courses fulfill various functions that magnify their importance apart from the purely aesthetic issues that make these sports facilities places of unquestionable beauty most of the time.

However, apart from the added value they bring to the landscaping of golf courses, lakes play a decisive role in the strategy of the game, an always threatening element that usually penalizes aggressive shots or, simply, those that follow erroneous trajectories.

Another essential function of lakes on golf courses is that they act as vital water reserves, especially during the summer months, allowing irrigation when weather conditions, in relation to rainfall, are more adverse.

Furthermore, and not to be underestimated, the lakes constitute the natural habitat of many species, which turn golf courses into authentic reserves of native fauna and flora that highlight their high environmental value.

Therefore, and having explained its importance, it seems obvious that cleaning the lakes on golf courses is a primary issue, among other things to address the problems caused by algae, poor water quality, and legionella.

The need for the water in lakes to be renewed and circulated – either through established circuits, the existence of fountains, etc. – in order to prevent the liquid element from rotting, is not enough to ensure that the water deposited in them is as clean as possible.

Surface cleaning

In this regard, the National Golf Centre has been carrying out, for more than fifteen years, through the

Matbacter company (www.matbacter.es), a treatment of the golf course waters in a two-pronged approach, one surface and the other bottom cleaning, which is usually more complicated given the tendency to accumulate silt.

This ecological and economical cleaning system is also used in other golf courses that have also been encouraged to use this system: Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro, Real Club La Moraleja, Los Naranjos, Alcázar de San Juan, etc.

Thanks to the use of a product manufactured entirely in-house, it has been observed over the years that, by using this treatment, a series of very important improvements have been achieved for the field.

Among them, the saving of work for the maintenance department stands out, since blockages in the sprinklers are eradicated, so the pumps work at a much better performance.

Another fundamental objective is also achieved: that the water is free of contaminants, cleans the biofilms deposited in the pipes and eliminates bad odors, in addition to considerably reducing the problem of mosquitoes that bother golfers so much, especially during the summer months.

Not surprisingly, if the water is in poor condition, no matter how much fumigation is done, the mosquitoes will reappear, and this also allows for the Legionella treatment to be certified to comply with ISO and UNE standards.

Another important advantage of this treatment, unlike other commonly used products on the market, is that it has a long-lasting effect, since the Matbacter product is self-dispersing and provides uniform concentrations of water, thus controlling the appearance of polluting waste, while also strengthening the growth of the grass on the golf course, a treatment that, it is important to emphasize, does not harm the ecosystem at all (fish, frogs, ducks, etc.).

Cleaning the funds

It is also advisable to carry out periodic cleaning of the lakebeds to remove the sludge that has accumulated there. This procedure will increase the lake's flow rate and improve its cleanliness. The system used in this case involves diving, as the diver enters the lake with a tube connected to a dredge and suctions up all the sediment and debris deposited on the bottom, leaving the lakebed completely clean.