The satellite boxes on the back nine were removed today, and the old wires capped off. Once we remove the concrete bases, the rest will be buried and covered with sod.
One of the best things about the new irrigation system is the fact that we lose the 10 green "satellite boxes" on the golf course. Depending where they are, some stick out more than others. The way this new system operates, they just aren't required. Our current system that's being replaced, has a communication cable (telephone wire, essentially) that connects my computer in my office to each of those green boxes on the golf course. My central computer tells those boxes which sprinkler heads to turn on, the time, the duration and when to turn off. It is one-way communication. I can send out the signal but it won't confirm if everything ran according to plan. The new system has individual head control, and a system that "talks" to individual sprinkler heads. A huge added benefit is the new system is 2-way communication. So, if a sprinkler head doesn't turn on one night for whatever reason, I'll know that by looking at a report on my cell phone or iPad. I'll be able to control the entire irrigation system, the pump station and weather station all from my iPhone, anywhere in world. The technology is pretty cool!
On #8, we are making tremendous progress. A large delivery of drainage pipe is coming tomorrow that will allow us to keep plugging on this area. Below, the yellow arrow is pointing at an old metal culvert that runs beneath #8 green. This culvert pipe should have been removed during the 1998 greens reconstruction but for whatever reason, it was left in place. The pipe is rusting though and that is what was causing the cavitation and small sink holes in the rough over the past few years. To make matters worse, the pipe was abandoned but it still had a fair amount of water in it. That water would find its way to the surface. I'm happy that we'll be able to address this challenge once and for all! The exposed white, 2" pipe with wires is the irrigation line that runs the perimeter of the green. It is buried 24" deep. The culvert pipe below it, is over 5' deep!
The photo above doesn't do this project justice. This is a significant excavation project and a 6' deep hole.
Below, you can see Michael standing on the rusted culvert.
Above, the yellow arrows point to rusted holes in that metal culvert that caused the cavitation at the surface. These holes on the surface were/are a major safety concern of mine because if you unknowingly step in the wrong spot, it would be very easy to roll an ankle or even worse.
On #15, the pond dredging and repairs have been made. Tomorrow, we will paint the valve stem and inlet cover flat black to make it disappear. A native stone headwall was constructed where the culvert daylights next to Hummingbird Lane. After the paint is complete and dry, the valve will be closed and the pond will begin to fill up with water! It's been a long time coming. I estimate it will take approximately 3 days to fully refill with water. The week of January 3rd, we'll more than likely be getting two truckloads of sod to cover these areas around #15 pond and call this project complete! Once again, your patience is and was appreciated while we weighed our options to correct this situation.
This pond is roughly 90,000 cubic feet in volume, or 3,300 cubic yards. A cubic yard holds roughly 202 gallons of water, thus the pond holds 666,600 gallons of water. That means, according to my estimate of 3 days to refill, the creek on #15 (mostly spring fed) carries 222,200 gallons of water per day. This is your useless trivia for the day.