adding a WHERE 'x' >= 'y' to my WP_Query

i’m using this to pull in my ‘events’ custom post type

WP_Query('post_type=events&posts_per_page=10&meta_key=Date&orderby=meta_value&order=ASC&')

but I want to add a WHERE clause so it only brings in dates that are in the future

i’ve managed to kinda do it with this, but this only works in the ‘loop’

<?php $recent = new WP_Query('post_type=events&posts_per_page=10&meta_key=Date&orderby=meta_value&order=ASC');

if ($recent->have_posts()) :
while($recent->have_posts()) : $recent->the_post(); 

$fakedate = get_post_meta($post->ID, 'Date', true);
list($y, $m, $d) = explode('/', $fakedate);
$makedate = mktime(0, 0, 0, $m, $d, $y);
$eventdate = strftime('%d %b %Y',$makedate);
$checkdate = strftime('%Y%m%d ',$makedate);
$todaysdate = date('Ymd'); 

if ($checkdate >= $todaysdate) : ?>

  <a title="<?php the_title(); ?>" href="<?php the_permalink() ?>" rel="bookmark"><?php echo $eventdate; ?> - <?php the_title(); ?></a>

<?php endif; ?>
<?php endwhile; ?>
<?php else : ?>

  <p>There are currently no events to display</p>

<?php endif; ?>