Keeping the drainage working well starts with understand-
ing it. And among all the decisions that can be made regarding
a field, it's the drainage system that will be one of the most
important to its success or failure as a facility.
Sounds dramatic, doesn't it? Consider this: it doesn't mat-
ter how great your scoreboard is, how nice the seating is or
whether you have a press box if the field isn't draining well
enough to be playable. Therefore, the investment in drainage
on the front end of the project will allow all those other ameni-
ties to be appreciated and admired.
The biggest mistake many field owners make is cutting
corners on drainage. Why? Because, to return to an earlier
point, drainage is invisible. But how invisible is it really? When
drainage isn't adequate to the amount of rainfall or watering
the field gets, it means that water ultimately remains on the
subgrade instead of moving away from the field. Over time,
this can and will cause the subgrade to become unstable and
allow the base to move. It may even allow water to back up
through the base and onto the surface, washing out the infill
or stretching the carpet.
And at that moment, the field owner won't be cherishing the
money he or she saved by not installing adequate drainage.
Irrigation & Drainage | By Mary Helen Sprecher
PrIncIPles of DraInage:
a begInner course
36 sportsTurf | June 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com
Under normal circUmstances, the drainage for your synthetic field is invisible, at least
to spectators and players. And that's the way it's supposed to be. The field should shed water and
remain playable. After all, the only way drainage becomes noticeable is if it doesn't work.
To facilitate discussions with your drainage designer,
you can estimate the amount of water your field will
need to handle with the following formula:
Length of the field in feet x width of the field in
feet x .623 gallons = gallons of water produced
by 1" of rainfall
Photo courtesy of GMB Architecture & Engineering, Holland, MI
