Let's dig a hole!

As many of you may know, we are currently in the process of exploring new and better options for an irrigation water source for the golf course.  The plan is to dig a "test well" to see if we can tap an underground aquifer with sufficient water for the 15-20 million gallons a season we need.  After quite a bit of leg work this winter securing permission, we finally are clear to dig our well.  After consulting with a well driller and a golf course architect, it was determined the ideal location for the well was near the creek between the driving range fence and number 9 fairway. Not only is it better in terms of tying into our existing mainline, but also offers a slightly better chance for increased availability of water.  Something geological over my head regarding soil and bedrock airspace or something like that.  All that aside, we hope to begin drilling this spring at the latest.

Took a little survey work to get true elevation of the proposed site.

If we wanted to put the well where he is standing, it would have opened a whole new can of worms in the floodplain.  Fortunately we are putting it next to the last driving range pole where his partner is.

For those of you that aren't aware of our well project, I will be happy to fill you in.  We currently draw our irrigation water from 10-mile creek directly into our sprinkler system.  This is very problematic for the following reasons:

1.  As we learned this past summer, the creek flow can become insufficient to water the golf course.  On more than one occasion, we were not able to water fairways or tees due to the lack of creek water.  Water normally provided from the quarry was sequestered for their operation and not available to us.  Ground water is plentiful in our area (for now) and we should be able to find sufficient quantity for our operation.  The question is how much flow we will find and how deep do we have to go to get it.  A recent well dug near flower hospital was estimated to be near 1000 gallons per minute!

2.  The creek water contains a great deal of debris.  We spend quite a bit of time, especially when the creek is at low summer levels, cleaning our sprinklers out as they become clogged.  On numerous occasions we have had greens and tees not water sufficiently due to debris in the lines.  On poa annua greens in the summer, this can be the difference between healthy and completely dormant or even dead grass.  Well water would presumably be much cleaner, consistent, and plentiful.

3.  Our dam.  In order to glean sufficient "head" for our intake, we have to create a small "natural" damn.  This requires we put a large piece of equipment in the creek several times throughout the season to maintain it.  For obvious reasons, this is not only dangerous but the potential for an environmental issue (oil leak in the creek etc...) is dicey at the last.  Also, if they so desired, the Army Corps of engineers could make us stop damming the creek if they found reason.  This would create a very difficult situation and we would have significant issues in irrigating the course. A new well system would remove the danger, unpredictability, and expense of damming the creek.

4.  Our electrical supply is in need of upgrading to meet local codes.

5.  Water temperature.  The cold spring temperatures of our creek water create leaking issues early in the season due to the rubber o-rings in the sprinklers.  You will notice each spring that many sprinkler heads appear to be leaking.  This is due to the cold spring water.  Well water would offer a more constant temperature.  Also, the constantly cool water would help the greens through hot summer days by enabling us to more dramatically drop canopy temps during summer "syringing" cycles.

Overall, the current system is unreliable, tough on our sprinklers, problematic, unsafe, and causes a lot of headaches and labor drains.  Also, the current control system is so old that we can't even buy parts for it anymore.  The club is going to be replacing these systems within the next couple of years regardless of our water source.

There are a couple of downsides that we will have to manage in order to ensure our new water source is usable.  Water quality is unknown at this point as well as sulfur quantity.  Anecdotal evidence would suggest that suitable, "non-stinky" water is available in the area, but you just don't know until you dig.  We will be monitoring and testing to ensure it is suitable.  We will also explore options to treat the water if necessary to overcome some of these downfalls.

Ideally, we would be pumping our water into a holding pond to secure several days of water at once.  Unfortunately, the only place a pond would work in the golf architect's eyes is on the south side of the creek.  This creates a logistic and electrical nightmare as well as increasing the cost of the project by as much as double.  For now, if a simple direct well system works, it is far better than our current system.  If the flow is sufficient to directly supply 1000 gallons per minute to our system, then we are in the clear.  If the flow is extremely low, say less than 250 gallons per minute, then we are going to have to revisit the pond discussion or commit to digging more wells.  I'm hoping we need no more than two to get the job done.

If new wells end up with sufficient water it would be the most important infrastructure update this course has seen in recent history.  It will secure this club for generations and ensure it's ability to sustain the best playing conditions.  If climate trends continue and summers remain hot and/or dry, a good, clean, consistent water source is the most important thing we can have.

As the project begins I will continue with updates and more detailed information.  Please call or email me if you have any questions!

Great to be back from the trade show.  Below are some lovely chaps I met in San Diego.

Seal Beach at La Jolla