In 1988, the City of Prineville was facing fines of up to $25,000 per day if it did not find a way to dispose of the wastewater that was being dumped into the Crooked River . Since the city did not have enough money to build a new water-treatment center, the EPA suggested spraying the wastewater over a 400 acre alfalfa field.
The mayor, City Manager and City Council decided to build a golf course that would dispose of the wastewater. Meadow Lakes Golf Course is now a fully functional 18-hole championship golf course and waste-water disposal site. The water is disposed of through irrigation and the 10 evaporation ponds that double as water hazards for local golfers. What was initially a huge problem, has turned into a financial and environmental success.
Meadow Lakes has been featured in many national publications, and received the inaugural Golf Digest Environmental Leaders Golf Award. Many other golf courses have been modeled after the project completed by the City of Prineville . Meadow Lakes is an active municipal golf course that has hosted two Oregon Amateur State Championships, including the 1998 Oregon Mid-Amateur Championship. Word has certainly gotten out that this wastewater treatment facility is also a great golf course.
Golfers come from all over the Pacific Northwest to play the golf course that they have read and heard so much about. The challenging and enjoyable layout, designed by Bill Robinson, keeps the golfers coming back. Set on the beautiful desert highlands of sunny Central Oregon , amidst sparkling blue ponds, rock-rimmed buttes and green meadows, Meadow Lakes features a championship course, a beautiful clubhouse, and a friendly staff eager to make your round of golf an extraordinary experience. Meadow Lakes has been featured in the USA Golf Journal and is one of the first-ever recipients of Golf Digest’s National Environmental Leaders Award.
