Chances are if you've been in the green industry in the Mid-Atlantic for a while, you've survived a couple of droughts. They're challenging agronomically but can be a killer for business. Browned-out courses hold less appeal for players and fried lawns mean no incremental revenue for LCOs.

Droughts also pose serious image issues for our happy little business. The average citizen is mystified and sometimes even a little pissed to see clubs, courses and other professionally maintained turf areas continue to be irrigated when others are cutting back. Remember that 80 percent of Americans don't play golf and couldn't care less about the survival of your business. God help you if some do-gooder drives by and sees your irrigation system running in the rain during a drought.

What's more, too many water regulators are still laboring under the delusion that green turf is just for looks. Lot's of the folks who end up making decisions about your water supply are...what's that word again??? Oh yeah, hippies. Thus, we often end up fighting against activists based on the perception that we use a disproportionate share of water largely for the aesthetic enjoyment of wealthy people.

Your counterparts in California are going through this right now with a very serious drought situation. Some courses are already closing preemptively, landscapers are at the bottom of the priority list and water costs are skyrocketing. Why is this relevant to you?

First, the lousy PR. Like it or not, California is a media-rich environment. If it makes news on the Left Coast it will inevitably make news elsewhere. The green industry in the Golden State is currently getting hammered not just by local press but by agriculture, which never hesitates to throw our specialty business under the bus when it behooves them. We look lousy because we didn't make our case when water levels were still where they're supposed to be.

Second, it's a valuable lesson. The turf & ornamental business in California has many admirable qualities but unity is not one of them. Instead of working cooperatively, the various groups are fragmented. Lawn care doesn't talk to golf and golf doesn't talk to the nursery people. What's worse, there's no statewide coordination so each region is taking a different approach to fighting for their rights. The lesson is clear: You must have a unified response led by your best people. You must have BMPs that everyone buys into. You must have one voice.

Finally, it's very relevant because how you respond to today's problem can help you substantially in the future. There's an old saying that, in Chinese, the symbol for "crisis" is identical to the symbol for "opportunity." Responding professionally and proactively to the water challenge can dramatically enhance your industry's image and your prospects to be treated fairly in future water regulation.The best example of this problem-as-opportunity situation you can find in the golf business took place just down the street in Georgia. What started as a huge problem a decade ago became a glorious moment for the Georgia GCSA because they responded positively and effectively to a drought under the amazing leadership of Mark Esoda and others. As a result, they not only showed that golf deserves fair treatment, the governor of the state actually recognized them for their water use leadership. Read the whole story here: Golf and the Environment

On the lawn care side, there is also great opportunity. My colleague Chuck Bowen the editor of our flagship Lawn & Landscape magazine, believes that LCOs and contractors have a chance to redefine their role with their customers to include "water advisor." Contractors are in a position to present themselves as experts in smart water management for homeowners and commercial customers alike. Chuck recently conducted a great webinar on the subject with an innovative contractor who's done this for his company: Water Management Adviser Webinar

Virginia and surrounds have done a great job of documenting the value of the golf/turf industry (Virginia-Golf-Economy - exec-summary). I urge y'all to keep focused on this type of proactive approach and make sure to keep talking about our intelligent use of water. If we don't, we could all end up bone dry someday.