Tag Archive for: water

Toro Irrigation A Water Saver

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Toro Irrigation A Water Saver: Thanks to Toro irrigation, Royal Birkdale Golf Club saved 25 percent on water consumption throughout the 2018 heatwave.

The timing could not have been more fortuitous as Royal Birkdale Golf Club turned on its new Toro irrigation system in April 2018 just in time for one of the hottest summers the country has ever experienced.

Toro Irrigation A Water Saver

Little did Chris Whittle, course manager at Royal Birkdale, know, as the tender process for a new irrigation system started in September 2017, that within weeks of installation a record equalling heatwave would hit the country.

As golf courses fought to prevent their turf from being burnt brown and water costs rose accordingly, Chris was in the fortunate position of having efficient, accurate and precise irrigation at his fingertips with a new Toro Lynx central control system and all new sprinklers, including Toro Infinity, across the 240-acre 18-hole links course in Southport, Merseyside.

“The time had come to replace our system,” says Chris, who has been course manager at the prestigious club for almost a quarter of a century. “We had a Toro system that had always served us well and the service from distributor Reesink Turfcare, L.S. Systems and Robin Hume Associates has always been great so there was no question we’d go with anyone else, but we needed more control. Lynx was the obvious choice and no sooner was it installed than it was put to the ultimate test!”

And the system triumphed in the face of adversity, says Chris: “We’re delighted with the results Toro has delivered. We spent some time learning the system, there was tweaking required as we set it up, making it specific to the course and making sure we maximised its capabilities. Once that was done, operation was easy and straight-forward. As I’m sure you can imagine having remote access to make real-time adjustments was particularly useful this summer!

“Prioritising water allocation meant we kept the course playing well, looking fine and in the best possible health,” Chris continues. “Not only that, but despite the need for more irrigation than we’ve experienced for many years, we made huge savings in water consumption.”

25 percent savings and that’s a conservative estimate, says Chris: “It was a figure that was unexpected in how significant it was. We hoped to make savings with the new system obviously, but not while we contended with extreme heat and lack of rain, the worst of which we hadn’t seen in years! When we realised how much we’d saved we couldn’t believe it.”

Royal Birkdale has held more championship and international events since World War Two than any other course in the world and has been voted the number one golf club in England, one of the top five clubs in the UK and among the top 35 in the world, so standards were expected to remain high despite the conditions. And Toro could be relied upon to help do just that.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Secret Valley Fight Water Reduction

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Secret Valley Fight Water Reduction: The Secret Valley Golf Resort in Cyprus, managed by Troon Golf, has used PBS 150 from Aqua Aid Europe to combat a lack of water caused by climate change.

Cyprus is one of the hottest countries in Europe and has average temperatures nearing 30°C from June to September. During this time the average rainfall is 0mm with a small reprieve in September when it rises to 3mm.

Secret Valley Fight Water Reduction

Recently, rain during the winter months has reduced, leading to reductions in water around the island. This has caused Golf Course Superintendent, Derek Smith, to focus on methods of reducing hydrophobic conditions on the course.

Derek’s employment history has seen him work in warm climates before when at Palmares Golf Resort, Portugal, Alcanda Golf Course, Majorca and The Wave Golf Course, Oman, but a lack of water to manage heat, similar to what was experienced in the United Kingdom in the summer of 2018, was a challenge he had to address quickly.

Derek explained: “Due to climate changes the winters have changed in Cyprus with less and less rainfall falling. The dams are running at under 30% and they are our only source of water, so reductions from the water authorities have left us struggling for water.

“I have always been very water efficient as I truly understand how this is affecting the turf industry. Because we could not spend the value of water in our budget due to the cuts, we decided to use some of that money to help the plant in other ways. One by using a high-quality wetting agent and another by using growth retardants.

“We had already started using OARS HS and from my experience using them, I trust Aqua Aid products and their longevity. After meeting a representative from Aqua Aid Europe and explaining our issues it was decided that we’d try PBS150. We applied it once in the middle of May and during the summer months we saw a water reduction of around 30% and I’ve seen a much better sward density and far, far less isolated hydrophobic areas.

“For us, saving water is beneficial enough, but by not having to spot water we have reduced labour costs. I also hope that by using PBS 150 we can work on our very poor river silt soil and turn it into a healthier environment.”

PBS 150, or polyfunctional branched surfactant to use its full name, utilises multi-branched molecular technology to address the source of performance loss – biodegradation of the surfactant molecule by soil microbes.

It is designed to reduce hydrophobic conditions on a sustainable basis for five months or more, encouraging a pattern of hydration and re-hydration that improves the amount of available water in the soil profile to meet the metabolic demands of the plant. The 3D Multibranched technology  helps to even-out moisture difference in multiple directions, providing a great tool to give more control over moisture conditions.

By doing this the uniform movement of water into and through the soil matrix is restored and the stress tolerance is improved along with the turf quality and colour.

For more information on the range of products please visit the www.aquaaid.eu

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Rain Bird’s New Water Jets

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Rain Bird’s New Water Jets: There are many large area installations where the ability to water as quickly as possible in the most efficient way is critical, whether for irrigation, dust control or other purposes. With Rain Bird’s new XLR Series of water jets, users can now choose from a wide range of solutions that the company claims will outperform and outlast competing long-range impact rotors. They will save water, time and money in many applications such as large sports field and arena irrigation, dust control in quarries and mines, feed yards, stables, reclamation yards or industrial premises as well as for pest control in lumber yards where termites can be controlled by keeping wood wet.

Water pressure, site topography and size are taken into account in Rain Bird product designs and the new XLR Series offers easy customisation and adaptability. This is achieved not just through the breadth of the range, but also through inherent design features. XLR Series water jets do not only have a powerful throw, but ensure effective irrigation and highly efficient, even water distribution over large areas. The risk of flooding, pooling, overwatering or run off which can be experienced with alternative rotors is eliminated.

Rain Bird's New Water Jets

The intelligent design of the deflector, barrel and nozzles requires less water pressure to operate. A self-adjusting automatic brake system maintains a constant rotation speed and is made from treated stainless steel that increases wear resistance. A dynamic jet-breaker corrects the uneven distribution that can be encountered in low water pressure areas.The durable, lightweight marine grade aluminium used in the barrel construction is designed for the toughest irrigation tasks but requires less force to initiate or change motion.

Taken together, these features allow the waterjet to throw water long distances even when running at low pressures. For example, the 24° unit has a radius of 45 metres at 4.5 bar with a 22mm nozzle. Even at 2 bar, a 30 metre radius can be achieved with the same nozzle.

Users can select from three XLR ranges with different trajectory angles – fixed 24° or 44° units and a 15-45°adjustable unit. The XLR 24° unit is designed for standard applications such as sports field irrigation, whether synthetic or natural turf. It is also suitable for horse arenas and some dust control applications and has a throw range up to 54 metres.

The XLR 44° units, with a throw range up to 53 metres, are adapted for dust control and applications where height and elevation of the stream is critical to overcome obstacles or piles of stored products. The easily adjustable XLR  ADJ 15-45° units offer maximum flexbility as the stream angle and trajectory range can be changed to avoid obstacles or power lines and kept at a low level during windy conditions.

Separate XLR 12mm-28mm nozzles are available in nine different sizes for varying throw ranges. They are manufactured from technical polymers, with a design that minimises pressure loss and maximises throw.

Full details of the XLR range are available at www.rainbird.eu where a full installation guide and user manual are also available together with examples of potential irrigation and dust control applications.

For more information, contact Peter Longman, Rain Bird Europe, Northern Europe Landscape Area Manager, Tel: +44 7575 626600 email: plongman@rainbird.eu Website: www.rainbird.eu

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Flood Water Just A “Big Puddle”

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Flood Water Just A “Big Puddle”: Tim Packwood, head groundsman at Worcestershire CCC, has seen plenty of floods during his 29 years on the club’s staff. This one, he says, is just a “big puddle”.

With the county’s first home game of the Championship season just three short weeks away, New Road’s location on a floodplain has come back to haunt the Pears again, with the overflow feeding back across the ground to leave 95 per cent of the outfield lying beneath floodwater up to four feet deep.

While the sight of his square completely underwater may be familiar to Packwood, to the outside world it remains inconceivable that first-class cricket will be played on one of those very wickets when Nottinghamshire visit in Division One on April 27.

However, the man in charge of getting the ground fit for competitive action is defiant.

“It is a flood but you look at it and as a groundsman you just think of it as a big puddle,” he told The Cricketer on Friday, as he looked out on the flooded outfield.

“That’s how I’d see this compared to most floods.

“The worst ones have had the roads closed and it’s been up over the roof of the marquee.”

The Worcestershire groundstaff need a minimum of two weeks to get the playing surface ready for that opening game, leaving seven days for the outfield to dry up.

Providing there is not an abundance of sediment left on the square, the mop-up job should be fairly routine.

If that is not possible, the match will be relocated to the Worcester Royal Grammar School nearby.

Packwood’s biggest irritation seems to be the hokey-cokey of machinery, which had only emerged from storage earlier in the week before having to be packed up again days later.

“Most of the lads have been on the groundstaff for quite a long time now and they know the floods are one of those things. You can’t do anything about it; if we could stop it we would,” he said.

“You don’t want it at this time of year but I’ve seen many a flood. You build a cricket ground on a floodplain, you take the rough with the smooth.

“As soon as it does start to go up, we’ll be doing our best to make sure we have something ready for April 27. Everybody would still like to make sure the game is still on here.

“It’s entirely down to Mother Nature now. We don’t flood directly from the river, being on the floodplain all the water backs up over the fields and we are the last stop.

“Although the river is starting to drop, it’s got to drop enough for all the ditchwater to go off. It could be done by Sunday, it could even linger around for another week.”

Provided the water subsides, the flood could even benefit Packwood’s preparations, as ridiculous as it sounds, with the weight of water compressing the wicket and aiding in the rolling process.

Still, the clean-up is hardly ideal so close to the new campaign.

Packwood points out, however, that he is not the only one battling the elements in the wake of a winter full of heavy rain and snow.

“Every county groundsman at the moment is working against it. Hats off to every groundsman,” he said.

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Water Suppliers – Assessing Options

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Water Suppliers – Assessing Options: It’s been almost a year since Greenkeepers in England have been able to choose who supplies their water. Almost 92,000 supply points have so far switched, with more in the pipeline, and many companies have renegotiated a better deal with their existing provider.

If you’ve never explored the options, you could be missing out on benefits including:

  • The convenience of dealing with a single supplier, reducing administration time and cost.
  • Lower prices.
  • Better customer service, specified to your needs.
  • Water efficiency services to cut the amount of water you use, saving money and waste.

Water Suppliers - Assessing Options

To help Greenkeepers understand the market and how to assess their options, independent water specialist The Water Report has produced a short guide. It explains the new arrangements and includes a supplier directory to help customers shortlist potential retailers from the 20+ companies licensed to compete.

The Customer Guide to the New Water Market is available FREE to download at http://www.thewaterreport.co.uk/guide

Karma Loveday, author of the Guide and editor of The Water Report said: “The market turns a year old in April. This is a good time for customers to look at whether they could benefit from switching, because first mover risk has passed but potential benefits remain. It can be hard to know where to start though. The Water Report has been following these developments since the beginning. We have produced The Customer Guide to the New Water Market to provide businesses with independent, high quality information to help them find their way in the new environment.”

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