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: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/753045
IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE 34 SportsTurf | December 2016 www.sportsturfonline.com STARTING UP YOUR IRRIGATION SYSTEM NEXT SPRING explained. "Depending on the size of the park, we have three to four quick couplers for smaller parks and up to 12 quick couplers for the larger parks. We start at the point of connection to turn off the incoming water, then use the quick couplers to drain the mainline. After that, we connect the air compressor and go station by station opening each one, using air to force the water out of the lateral lines." Only when the staff feels that all the water has been pushed out of the system will they turn off the compressor. Backflows that are two inches or smaller are removed and secured in a backflow cage over the winter. All this is necessary to ensure a safe spring startup, she noted. Editor's note: This article was supplied by Hunter Industries. W hen it comes to the startup of spring irriga- tion systems at large sports fields and municipal parks, careful planning goes a long way toward the successful seasonal start for fun and games. No one knows this better than Michael Boettcher, director of grounds for the Milwaukee Brewers, and Abby McNeal, CSFM, operations supervisor at Ruby Hill Southwest District Denver Parks. Both Boettcher and McNeal say that proper winterization translates directly into how well you can expect your spring startup to go. "A good spring startup starts with a good fall shutdown," said Boettcher, who is in charge of Miller Park, a main field with a retractable roof structure, 60 acres of landscaping, and a Little League Field sitting on a 250-acre park. "Baseball season starts April 1, so we try to get everything going around March 1 but Mother Nature doesn't always think we should be doing that," he added. McNeal said the winterization irrigation shutdown of the 80-acre park, including six Tier A athletic ball fields, takes 4 to 5 weeks, and involves lots of deliberate planning. These preventive efforts are done for good reason. "We rely on the strength of winterization to make our spring startup easier," McNeal said, echoing Boettcher's sentiments. Boettcher and McNeal reveal their strategies from early preparations in the fall to actual steps for achieving a suc- cessful spring startup and offer valuable tips for dealing with potential issues, including the unexpected challenges of spring startup. CAREFUL PLANNING Before freezing conditions arrive at their respective homes in Lake Michigan and the Rocky Mountain areas, both Boettch- er and McNeal say they blow out their irrigation network thoroughly with compressed air. Boettcher relies on an outside company to blow out each system in November to get all the water out and prevent the water from freezing in the pipes. McNeal said she hires a contractor to ensure the pump system, which is one large pump serving the entire park, functions properly. She relies on her own staff of six full- time employees and eight seasonal workers to complete the process of winterization and spring startup. "Each park has a varied number of quick couplers," she "We don't just do our spring startup and leave it at that"— Michael Boettcher