Technical Calm surface
A diffused aeration system provides a calm and serene water surface (right) thanks to quiet onshore compressors which pump air to diffusers on the lake or pond bed. The diffusers release oxygen, creating mass circulation to the bottom and top water layers without affecting the water’s surface. This creates a perfect water feature for the golfing environment where peace and tranquillity is important to players.
What is hydrophobic soil?
Soil that is hydrophobic causes water to collect on the soil’s surface rather than infiltrating into the ground. Soil hydrophobicity is thought to be caused primarily by a coating of long-chained hydrophobic organic molecules on individual soil particles. These substances may be released from a range of plants, decaying organic matter, soil fauna and microorganisms and last from as little as a few seconds to in excess of weeks. Hydrophobicity is often most prominent after prolonged dry spells and usually disappears after prolonged contact with water.
A calm surface thanks to onshore compressors
ground, and checking compaction; all of which contribute to ensuring optimum penetration and being efficient with water usage. They are also best placed to check equipment is leak, blockage and scale free, to check uniformity of the sprinkler radius, and look out for signs of water hydrophobicity, which is common on dried- out sandy or thatch soils. Plus, they can advise on the best mix of grass to use, considering finish and quality with drought- resistance. Step two is diversifying away from the mains water supply through the use of abstracted surface and groundwater and rainwater harvesting. Like it or not, we will eventually reach a cut-off point when the water companies say ‘no more’. At that point, those clubs that have been storing water will be at a distinct advantage; they’ll be partly sustainable and have a head start. Water management covers lakes,
reservoirs, ponds, water courses and boreholes. It is possible to extract up to 20m2 a day from a watercourse or borehole without a licence, and working with the Environmental Agency will bring plenty more
What is evapotranspiration?
Evapotranspiration is the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the earth’s land and ocean surface to the atmosphere. It is an important part of the water cycle, bringing significant water losses from drainage basins. Types of vegetation and land use significantly affect evapotranspiration and the amount of water leaving a drainage basin.
Drought-resistant grasses
Fine turf is dominated by two fine- leaved, slow-growing, deep-rooted, drought resistant grasses namely festuca rubra and the bents (agrostis). Whereas, for amenity turf, mixing up some tall and tufted fescues (festuca arundinacea) with some dwarf ryegrass will tolerate long periods of drought thanks to a deep (up to five feet) root system.
124 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016
options on how to extract water, create a water resource or alter the existing banks of a watercourse to make it usable. A great case in hand of this is Oxfordshire's
Frilford Heath Golf Club and its 6m, 10 million gallon reservoir. In an effort to become sustainable, Head
Greenkeeper Sid Arrowsmith wanted to use the reservoir water to irrigate the course but, because the water is piped from a brook downstream through farming fields, it brings pollutants such as waste and silt with it and the water started to smell, turn black in colour and was simply too unhealthy to apply to turf.
Working closely with the Environmental
Agency, Sid had a diffused aeration system installed to pump air to the bed of the reservoir, releasing oxygen and creating mass circulation to the bottom and top water layers. This process allows the aerobic bacteria to metabolise the nutrients and, within twelve weeks, he had water ready to use.
This is a fantastic situation to be in; within
three months, Sid and the club were a massive step closer to becoming self- sufficient with the reservoir holding good
Upgrading sprinklers will reduce water usage
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