Why Billy Casper Golf’s Water Bill is $133,462.65—and Past Due

Due to a clerical error, Billy Casper Golf’s water bill for RedGate Golf Course is $133,463.65 and past due.

The amount stems from irrigation water used in the heat of last summer, for which the golf course management company wasn’t billed, Christine Henry, the City of Rockville's acting director of Recreation and Parks, told the City Council on Monday.

Last year, the city turned over operations of the financially-strapped golf course to Virginia-based Billy Capser Golf, a private management company.

"In changing the billing system, the billing address and the owner … we mistakenly did not put the correct change of date,” Henry said. “Billy Casper was not charged for the irrigation water until they brought it to our attention in August, after they had used the irrigation water for almost three months in the heat of summer.”

The city is willing to forgive $38,085.66. The golf company has agreed to pay the remaining $95,376.99 over four years, Henry said.

According to city records, Billy Casper Golf used 22 million gallons of city water in 2012. Comparatively, the city used 6.4 million gallons of water in 2011.

Henry said part of the problem could be attributed to access to the irrigation water valve, which is not on the golf course’s property and could only be accessed by city staff.

In one instance, the valve was left on for Billy Casper Golf for several days, leaving 750 gallons of water per minute running through the two-inch pipe for days, Henry said.

Also, since 2006, when the golf course’s irrigation ponds were converted to stormwater management ponds, they hold less water, city staff said.

Officials with Billy Casper Golf said they had only planned to use 11 million gallons of water each year. But city staff and Billy Casper have since determined that 18 million gallons is more plausible.

City staff and Billy Casper are trying to determine how to come up with those 7 million extra gallons each year.