Creative Irrigation Solutions

[Bryan_Pennington]

We are experiencing enormous population growth in Central North Carolina (Triangle) in combination with a historic drought.  It appears the City will implement final stage water restrictions that basically prohibits any watering of golf courses.  We have drilled 3 wells and have an approximate 2 acre pond / lake on site but neither will adequately support the water needs of the course (the wells will not produce adequate water flow and the pond is only 3 ft deep in average).  We are facing tough decisions on how we will satisfy the basic water needs for our course. I am not talking about lush and green, I am talking about fundemental water needs to survive Southern summers.  We are reviewing plans to dredge our pond for greater capacity but that might not be the solution (environmental and engineering hurdles).  Has anyone seen non-traditional water containment options that actually provide adequate water resources to sustain a 135 acre golf course?  Thanks

[Chris_Baynham]

Bryan,

We (our company) deals with these issues for golf courses on a daily basis (approx. 60-80 projects per year)

"Environmental and engineering hurdles" are relatively minor issues when expanding existing ponds or reservoirs.

I'm curious to hear about any "non-traditional" containment options.  We have looked into different options, but the $$$ associated with the options are always a major concern/factor.

Best,

[Bryan_Pennington]

Chris,

Our pond was created by diverting an adjacent creek some 75 years ago.  The creek remains and presents some challenges as it is protected by certain water shed restrictions. Second, the damn is also in the 75 year old range and needs meaningful repair to sustain the current water depth.  Should we increase the capacity of the pond, the damn will require complete reconstuction and creates another set of challenges as it "spills" back into the previously mentioned adjacent creek (lots of permits, surveys, studies and governmental oversight).  Regardless, the pond solution is going to be expensive so I wanted to make sure we explored all options before settling on that solution. Send me your company information (link to website is fine).  Thanks

[Bill Brightly]

Bryan,

I'm not sure that I can offer any creative solutions, but we just finished a complete dam re-building and pond dredging project at our course in New Jersey, leading up to our new iriigation system which is almost complete.

Obviously, you need to select a really good engineering firm and you should be looking for one that knows how to get things done in North Carolina. The sky is the limit when it comes to how expensive a dam can be...so a good engineer will know how to deal with the State and design what you need, but no more...At first, the State wanted concrete "wing walls" coming out of our dam  into the stream that were about 120 feet long and 15 feet high, tapering down, so the dam would survive when the 100 year flood hits...The members would have lynched me in the Spring if that had been built from an aesthetics standpoint, let alone the cost... Our engineer came up with a very reasonable solution that the State approved and looks good. The point is there will be a lot of behind the scenes engineer-to-engineer discussion between you and the State.

You will learn a lot during the interview process as these guys expalin how they would approach your problem.

For example, one of the first things I learned is that in NJ, a pond owner has the right to dredge a pond to get rid of dredge material that has collected on the bottom of a pond, but making it deeper requires a lengthy approval process.

And  our pumping permitsare measured in a few different ways: per minute capacity, per day, and yearly needs. Aagin ,get a good engineer.

[Chris_Baynham]

Hi Bryan,

When reading my own post about "relatively minor", I meant hurdles comparable to the initial permitting and approval process - zoning, EIA's, site plan agreements etc. for new golf course developments. (We also deal with these issues on a regular basis)

I would rather not post company info on this forum, but feel free to send me an email (profiles address) and I could put you in contact with someone in our office who deals with long-term water taking strategies/engineering on a regular basis. They may be able to help.


Best,

[Neil_Crafter]

Bryan
Here in very dry Adelaide, Australia, a number of golf clubs have developed Aquifer Storage and Recharge (ASR) schemes whereby stormwater from the local drainage system is diverted into the golf course, cleansed through a series of wetlands with their macrophytic vegetation and the resulting cleansed water is injected down into the underground aquifer using bores. The injection is mostly done in winter when it rains more, allowing the water that is stored underground in the acquifer to be extracted by the bores for irrigation when needed. A wetland area of around 70,000 m2 (7 hectares) of around 1 to 1.2m in depth with adequate inflows can provide around 400 megalitres of injectable water which is enough to irrigate at least 27 holes in our climate. I am involved in a couple of these schemes with golf clubs that I am consulting architect to.

Worth investigating whether this technology is permissable and possible in your area as you do not need any surface storage with evaporation issues. You do though need area for shallow wetlands though and access to stormwater flows.

I've also added a link to a PDF info sheet on ASR schemes here in South Australia
http://www.dwlbc.sa.gov.au/assets/files/fs5_asr_in_sa.pdf

Hope this is of interest.
cheers Neil

[paul cowley]

Maybe adjust the irrigation to only water fairways, tees and greens and let the roughs go dormant during the summer or in drought conditions....assuming they are bermuda....and wait for the occasional thunder storm for the roughs survival.

If you can get the roots down deep enough they should survive IMO.

[Troy Alderson]

Bryan,

From a maintenance point of view, greens will require a ratio of 1.2 of the weekly Et, tees will require a ratio of 1.0 of the weekly Et, and fairways will require a ratio of 0.8 of the weekly Et.  If you can apply less than those numbers, great.  But try not to apply more.

Also, I like the idea of using wetlands to collect storm water and might I add drainage water.  Divert all your drainage into the wetlands for irrigation storage.  I have seen underground vaults used to eliminate evaporation from a surface pond, very expensive though.

Focus on collecting storm water and drainage water from the golf course and from off the golf course.  Look into collecting water from outside businesses and fields.  Make the golf course into the county storm collection area where anyone can contact you to divert water to the golf course.

Troy

[RJ_Daley]

Neil Crafter, that was a very informative link, thanks.  

There is no way I could view the material Neil has offered and fully understand its application and permitting possibilities here in the U.S. under State or Fed guidelines.  It sure appears to be a 'creative irrigation solution' for the future.  

I wouldn't have the slightest idea what a system as such would cost if created just for the use of a golf facility, and as Neil described that particular one to handle a 27 hole facility. I"d be interested to know the cost per round of say a 18 hole course that does a yearly of ~40,000 rounds.  

The time is near that golf courses will be going under financially, and will be allowed to go dry and unused and thus bankrupt if these water droughts like in Georgia, the great plains high plains aquifer, and such continue their long term trend downwards in the drought cycle.  

But, if there is commercial demand and the need is great, I beleive the engineers will ultimately come up with these creative solutions.  The question is how much cost can the golf industry absorb and continue as a viable market of millions of recreational golfers.  Or, will it trend towards and even more costly form of recreation, and become a wealthy class daliance, like polo or something...

[Neil_Crafter]

RJ
Glad you found the link informative. Project cost for one of these ASR schemes for construction of wetlands, pumps, bores etc is usually around  AUD$1.5 million or so (around US$1.2 million) and these in Adelaide have been funded in equal parts by the Federal Government, the State Government and the Golf Clubs. The Governments are involved as they can see the benefit to the environment of ensuring some of our stormwater just does not run straight out into the ocean, harming the seagrasses in the process. Once the system is built and operating the cost of irrigation water is fairly low - cost of electricity for the pumps, equipment maintenance and the payback on the capital cost. Long term water security can then be pretty well assured. Three of the top four courses here in Adelaide (Royal Adelaide, Grange and Glenelg) have signed up with these schemes and RA and Grange have completed theirs, with Glenelg's construction to start soon. So they are far from theoretical. ASR schemes in South Australia in non golf course environments have been undertaken for quite a few years so its a fairly proven technology.

[Adam Clayman]

Can anyone confirm or deny the use of a sub surface sponge-like mesh that transports water to the roots? I'd assume it works similar to a soaker hose.

[RJ_Daley]

Adam, when I was visiting in Portland this past spring, I played Eastmoreland alone and got paired with a regional salesman that was promoting and selling a similar sort of system that you describe.  He sent me a CD with a powerpoint demo of the product.  I thought it seemed bogus and wouldn't stand up to the rigors of use on a course, IMHO.  It was an Aussie produced system.  

Neil, it sounds like the ASR might only add about  ~$3 per round amortized over say 10 years at 40K rounds a year.  That isn't bad at all.  Future developers could starve the eyecandy projects (that only consume more water anyway) and spend the $$ more wisely and environmentally friendlier on this very interesting irrigation method.  Nice Posting!  

[Norbert P]

 There is a cornstarch polymer (ZEBA) that I use for new plantings, especially if they're in pots, that can be used for turf. I'm not sure of the expense on a grand scale but in quart jugs it's about ten bucks.
Below is a pdf file with instructions for localized turf repair. It has also been tested on new golf turf and has done very well, but they received the treatment to the soil not over the top.

 Anyway, just another option for you to consider.
 http://www.topspray.com/Portals/0/Zeba_Turf_Application.pdf

  www.zeba.com        (Absorbant Technologies)

[RJ_Daley]

Perhaps Adam is thinking of Coconut Coir.  It retains moisture in the RZ as well as S.Peat, has good to better CEC, and less acidic than peat.  It doesn't slow IR as much as peat, which to me seems counter to the moisture retention in RZ...

[Bryan_Pennington]

Thanks for the information.  The ASR system would be a great option if we had any wetland area.  We have an eastern North Carolina (more coastal) municipal system implementing a simliar storage system as we speak.  Rain Water harvesting appears to be gaining some traction and the idea to divert storm water from adjacent commercial sites might be a good solution (we are an in-town course).  Again, thanks to all.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Bryan,
You mentioned a 'muni' system, are you in an area where you can use effluent?  

[Bryan_Pennington]

Jim,

We could use effluent (gray water) if we could gain access to the municipal gray line.  According to the City, they are more than 4 years away from bringing that line near our course (cost prohibitive for us to go to the line at present location).