Irrigation Update #7 Please avoid driving carts and walking on returfed areas.
Posted on: 8 August
Hi Members
The latest update for the irrigation project is below.
The program slipped behind schedule shortly after starting the hole-by-hole installation of all the sprinklers, but it has picked up pace in more recent weeks and the back 9 holes are now complete. The project is about 2 to 3 weeks behind schedule. All sprinklers will now be installed by the 20th September.
We have prepared a contingency plan to enable all sprinklers on the greens to be installed before the tees and fairways should the weather turn dry and we need to water the greens earlier than expected. Lee Govan will be watching his weather forecasting crystal ball very closely and liaising with the Thinkwater contractors to decide if we need to revert to this plan B.
The installation of the lateral lines via the “plough” method has been very impressive. The fairways will recover quickly when the couch starts to grow in spring. The turf areas around the sprinklers is subject to subsidence and therefore rework from the grounds staff. The two prime causes of this are water travelling along the lateral pipe and washing out the sand around the sprinklers, and vehicles (golf carts in particular) driving over the repaired areas. Could all drivers of golf carts please try and avoid driving over the returfed areas around sprinklers.
When the hole-by-hole works are complete, the contractors will go back around all holes and smooth out the trenches where the main lines were installed. Lee and his team will then work on seeding these lines in order to get some grass coverage as soon as possible.
The configuration of the computer software and the marking up of as-built drawings has commenced. This work will be accelerated over August/September to ensure the system is fully configured and ready for use as soon as the physical work is complete. It will take about a week to commission the system by testing that the mapping in the computer system matches the physical sprinklers and to test the various aspects of the system.
The project is tracking to budget with no material changes having been made to the design to this point.
Alastair Boustead
President