36 SportsTurf | September 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com
Irrigation & Drainage
electric valves, until the collection tank is recharged by rainfall. As
an example, the summer of 2013 saw a state-wide drought and our
system never switched over to city water because the condensate col-
lection kept up with the watering demand. Ground water seepage
and the condensate lines must be adding a lot of water to the tank
to keep up with our current water demands and lack of rainfall.
The water from the collection tank is filtered on the way out
of the tank before reaching the dual variable pumping system; this
system is based on flow needs for the restrooms and field irriga-
tion. The variable pump system has been a large upgrade; also the
coverage of the irrigation heads has increased. The water quality has
been relatively good so far; we have been sending in water samples
to track the water quality to see if there is much fluctuation in the
tank water through the year. One interesting sample I sent in early
April 2011, at our irrigation system start up, was of water that had
sitting for an extended period of time; the test came back very good
even after being stagnate. Water test have fluctuated some but the
tank water has been a huge upgrade in quality for our turfgrass
compared to our city water.
This water collection system has been a success so far and more
systems similar to this will be examined for any future building
projects on our campus. Benefits we are experiencing so far include
saving water, spending less money on water resources, slowing the
watershed runoff speed from the building, and increasing the water
quality immensely. ■
Jason Koester, CGCS, is the sports turf manager and irrigation
specialist for Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA.
The variable pump system has been a large upgrade; also the coverage of the
irrigation heads has increased.
When the tank water level reaches 91 inches, the excess water is diverted
to the storm sewer system that feeds Grinnell Country Club ponds.
