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.
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