While monitoring the moisture content that I spoke about earlier today, I did notice our salinity reading under our greens is reading 1.33ds/m. Without getting into much detail, I convert this number to TDS ppm (Total dissolved solids- parts per million) by multiplying by 640. This comes to 851 ppm TDS. Over 2,000ppm, those salts begin to impact grass negatively. Pure salt water from the ocean is 54 ds/m or 35,000ppm. Ideal range for turf is 200-500ppm. So you see, we have a slightly higher than normal reading at 851 ppm but certainly not in the danger zone. So I went back to my last water test of Swan Lake, also our irrigation source. The ppm TDS was 44, well under the threshold and too clean to be honest.
I am wondering if the salinity jump could be from this system which is being pushed from the coast? Could the evaporation of oceanic water impact rain hundreds of miles away? Theoretically it could. Also, when the rain water enters the turf, it also picks up fertilizers and other "stuff" in the root zone that can bump this number. Still, it is pretty interesting to think about. I would venture to guess, our average rainwater is in the 44 ppm range based on the lake. After all, that is what fills it up and salts, being in solution, don't settle out.