SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/318924
38 SportsTurf | June 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com Irrigation & Drainage Slope is another essential aspect of good drainage. Both flat drains and trench drains are sloped to the outside edges of a rectan- gular field. The drains should extend 10' – 15' beyond the sidelines themselves to an area where the water is deposited in perimeter collector pipes. Depending on the grading plan, the amount of water to be moved and other factors, intermediate collector pipes also may be included in the drainage plan. This is something your design professional can also decide. Most baseball or softball fields include intermediate collector pipes starting approximately halfway up the sideline and running parallel to the centerline. It is also possible that football or soccer fields may include intermediate collector pipes depending upon the grade of the subbase, the amount of water expected, how quickly the field must be available after rain and other factors. These intermedi- ate collector pipes as well as the drainage pipes move the water to perimeter collector pipes. From there, the water moves to a disposal site such as a storm drain or catch basin. Most of the projects being designed today for synthetic turf consist of a "drainage layer" of stone (typically 6" to 8" deep) under the entire field to move water vertically as well as horizontally. Even without any piping, the slope of the subgrade and field will move water in a positive direction through the "drainage layer" of stone and along the designed slope. Perforated and sloped piping of any sort will make this more efficient and will move water more quickly to the established collection/exit points. Though synthetic turf fields drain well, site drainage on areas adjacent to the field is still necessary in most cases. Where areas around the field naturally slope and drain toward the field or where existing pavement or structures such as bleachers drain onto the field, storm water can carry suspended silts and other solids onto the field impacting drainage and performance. Additionally, excess storm water draining onto the field may overtax its vertical drainage and impact play. Finally, synthetic turf fields will not drain vertically when frozen. For all these reasons, it should be the goal of the drainage plan that the only water handled by the field drainage is from rain or direct irrigation. (In other words, the field should not be receiving runoff from the bleachers, dugout, track, any buildings or adjacent structures). Your design professional can provide information on site drainage, including interceptor drains, catch basins, retention ponds and the harvesting and dispersing of storm water. ■ Mary Helen Sprecher is a free lance writer who wrote this article on behalf of the American Sports Builders Association. ASBA is a non- profit association helping designers, builders, owners, operators and users understand quality athletic field construction. ASBA offers the publication, "Sports Fields: A Construction and Maintenance Manual," which discusses, among other topics, sustainability in the construction and maintenance of synthetic fields, as well as synthetic turf recycling. For information, visit www.sportsbuilders.org. Photo courtesy of Medallion Athletic Products, Inc., Mooresville, NC Photo courtesy of Rettler Corporation, Stevens Point, WI Photo courtesy of Lone Mountain Contracting, Inc., Bosque Farms, NM Photo courtesy of Rettler Corporation, Stevens Point, WI