Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C., works with natural products to keep water features clean and attractive—and to help protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed from chemical contaminants. The 36-hole property includes several acres of wetlands and ponds as well as a new 75-foot tall water sculpture. The waters are maintained with all-natural Bioverse AquaSpheres™.
The property sits on 2 ½ miles of the Potomac River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay just 50 miles away. Water quality of the Chesapeake Bay has been a concern due to excessive nutrients, sediment and toxic contaminants.
Director of Grounds Brad Enie said, “The environment is a priority of ours. Our goal is to create an amazing golfing experience for our members, but we are especially concerned for the environment as we work on our courses and ponds.”
Enie said, “We need hydration to keep everything alive. A healthy pond makes a healthy habitat and healthier irrigation water, which makes for healthier turf.”
“In most cases what’s good for the turf is bad for the water on the course,” Bioverse aquatic specialist Ron Slingerman said. AquaSphere microbes also consume nitrogen and phosphorus, denying algae the food sources it would otherwise thrive on.
Slingerman explained, “Instead of chemicals, Bioverse breaks down unwanted material naturally. Whereas chemicals are killers, biological matter digests or consumes what we don’t want in a healthy pond. Bioverse uses organics in a way that doesn’t disrupt the natural ecosystem.”
The property’s ecosystem attracts and holds a number of wildlife species, which collectively can have a great impact of their own on the water system. However, Bioverse products handle fish waste, leaves, duck and geese waste and other organics that might cause dirty or murky water.
Bioverse AquaSphere application is easy, Slingerman said: just toss a ball into the pond. The AquaSphere has openings to release live cultures of good bacteria continuously, 24 hours a day for up to 30 days. These microbes work at the bottom of the pond, reducing the sludge layer from 10 to 20 percent a year.
The sphere is a biodegradable corn product weighted with sand, so everything entering the pond is natural.
Water comes into play on 19 holes of Trump National’s two par-72 courses. Enie said, “Trump National makes the best of its water features, and those water features are a part of how what makes Trump National a world-class club.”
**For more information contact:**
Mary S. Luke
507/727-1000
mluke@bioverse.com
