Grounds Manager at Southampton Football Club, has a problem with drainage,
DAVE ROBERTS,
especially after heavy or prolonged rain. He believes he may have found an inexpensive solution to an
otherwise costly problem
From Dell Boy to SAINT
We have a problem with drainage on the pitch at St Mary’s, Southampton. The pitch is built over a gravel raft/carpet with drains laid every 3m below this. Above the gravel is a grit layer 50mm deep with a 200mm of
rootzone laid over this. The rootzone is 95% sand 2% silt, 3% clay and is laid totally flat i.e. no crown. Over the past few years this construction has given us problems with drainage especially with very heavy or prolonged rain during the non-
growing winter period. The largest problem that we face is the perched water table ends up holding water very close to the surface. Great in the summer for establishing the grass as the surface remains moist and great for match days as the high perched water table keeps the surface soft but stable, however for the rest of the year this gives me problems in maintaining a high class surface that drains freely. The high water table gives us several specific problems that all add to the poor drainage rates of our pitch:
• Lack of a hydraulic head, this means that in the non growing season, during heavy rain, the pitch will not drain until saturation or, worse still, until puddles form. This extra weight on the surface then forces the water out of the bottom of the rootzone into the grit and gravel, finally reaching the drains.
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