Mainline bore under Grand Club Drive.

Pipe pulling along Grand Club Drive.

WATER MATTERS #12
Brad  Wilkins IrrigationTask Force

Continuing our series of articles to keep you informed of the status of the irrigation system installation, this article will bring you up to date on Phase I and Phase II.

Phase I of the irrigation project is complete.  All testing, including the system pressure test, has been successfully completed. Sean Hyduk of Aqua Turf International, our irrigation service consultant, has completed all Phase I inspections and has signed off on all the punch list items. He has also programmed the central control computer and provided as built drawings to our Grounds Superintendent Eric Czarnecki.

Lynn Setelius, our comptroller has closed out the AFE (Authorization for Expenditure), with a $4,170 contract cost under run. In addition to the cost under run we sold some of the components of the old system and collected more than $5,000. There were fourteen (14) relatively minor change orders (plus and minus) included in the cost under run and none of the contingency funds were touched.  The project objectives of an average water distribution efficiency (DU) of 84% and reduced watering window (8 hours or less) were more than met as has been previously reported. Other project objectives included improved playability of the Lakes Golf Course and the appearance of both the golf course and common grounds along Timber Pines Blvd. That success is more subjective but is very evident.

The Internal Audit Committee has completed a review of the Phase I contract process and found no major discrepancies. The impact on residents was minimal and the Lakes golf course reopened on schedule. These successes are the result of a good design, a good contract, good administration by the consultant and Timber Pines staff and good performance by the contractor Mike Roach Incorporated.

Phase II work which began in May and has been moving forward nicely. The golf course portion of Phase II has been completed and the Hills Golf Course opened for play on August 18 as scheduled. The pressure test for Phase II golf has been conducted and was successful. The DU audit of the Hills Course will be conducted within the next 30 days. A punch list has been developed and the open items are being addressed.

The remainder of Phase II work involves the common grounds along Grand Club Drive (North and South). You have probably seen the work crews which started on Grand Club South at the intersection of Timber Pines Blvd. This work is scheduled to proceed through the winter.

Please look for the periodic updates posted by Eric in the Friday Flash, the monthly newsletter and the irrigation blog @ www.timberpines.com. He does an excellent job in keeping the community informed of the project status.

Looking forward, the Phase lll work is tentatively scheduled for early in May, 2012.  The work to be included is the Grand Pines, the Highlands, Timber Point Blvd and the area around the Club House, PAC and the Tennis Courts.

                                                           

It’s hard to believe that the Irrigation Renovation has been underway for almost a year. A lot has been accomplished and we continue to see the benefits of the new irrigation design provided by our Irrigation Consultant, AquaTurf International along with the actual installation provided by Mike Roach Inc. Phase 2 golf is on schedule for completion therefore we’ll be re-opening the front 9 of the Hills course on 8/18/11. This means we will now have all golf courses open for play as we enter the fall which is the time when we see a significant increase in golf play. We’ll now resume installation of the new system within the Common Grounds and our attention will be focused on Grand Club Drive. Once again I’d like to thank everyone for their patience during this process.     

In an effort to continue to improve our benefits from the installation of the new irrigation system along with possible advantages within our daily agronomic practices we recently installed the RAINBIRD INTEGRATED SENSOR SYSTEM(ISS) on four greens throughout the golf courses. These sensors are located on # 18 Hills,#15 Pines, #7 & 14 of the Lakes Course. Below are 2 pictures of the installation followed by a brief description of what the ISS technology provides.

Only the Rain Bird Integrated Sensor System (ISS) gives you absolute control over your turf.

Dynamic integration. Fully automatic,

When paired with a Rain Bird central control system, the ISS is the only soil sensor system in the industry to offer the option of real-time automation of your sprinkler run times. For instance, the ISS can automatically cancel irrigation if soil moisture is above desired levels or adjust sprinkler run times to match soil moisture levels. In addition, the system can automatically generate alerts when temperature, moisture or salinity levels vary from desired ranges.

Every golf course is its own complex ecosystem. To provide a consistent, playable environment, you need an accurate understanding of turf health. The Rain Bird* Integrated Sensor System offers a snapshot of soil conditions to help you to understand what is happening below ground. It is also the only system in the industry to deliver easy-to-install absolute soil sensing and full integration with the central control system. As a result, you’ll save more time, water and money with Rain Bird.

Maximum accuracy. Zero calibration.

The ISS advantage starts at the root zone, where highly accurate sensors take real-time readings of your soil moisture, salinity and temperature. Rain Bird uses “absolute” soil sensors that are easy-to-install and require no calibration. They provide accurate readings immediately following installation. By comparison, competitors use “relative”sensors that require extensive calibration to improve the accuracy of the sensor readings. With the Rain Bird* ISS, the sampling frequency of soil sensing measurements can be adjusted to match your needs and course requirements.

Integrated Sensor System (ISS)

The Rain Bird* Integrated Sensor System gives you an accurate snapshot of soil conditions helping you to optimize turf health. It is the only system in the industry to deliver accurate soil sensor readings immediately following installation and true dynamic central control integration. As a result, you’ll save more time, water and money with Rain Bird.

Features and Benefits

·Dynamic integrations. Fully automatic.

When paired with a Rain Bird Central Control System, the Integrated Sensor System can automatically adjust sprinkler run times to reach or maintain desired moisture levels, minimizing water consumption, resulting in healthier turf and better playing conditions.

·Intelligent monitoring.

As a standalone system, the ISS analyses soil moisture and calculates water budget recommendations for any golf course.

·Maximum accuracy. Zero calibration.

The ISS uses research-grade soil sensors backed by years of field experience. These sensors have been vetted by multiple academic peer reviews. The ISS takes highly accurate readings of soil moisture, salinity and temperature immediately following installation and without calibration-for -easy installation and immediate accuracy.

·Adjustable soil sensing rate.

With the Rain Bird ISS, the frequency of soil sensing measurements can be adjusted to match course needs.

·Dependable results.

Sensor readings are automatically stored by the data logger on Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) storage cards. Data is not lost due to power outages or wireless communication issues.

·Dependable communication.

The ISS uses a proven wireless mesh network which ensures the necessary range of transmission and a secured traffic from the data logger to the Soil Manager software.

With the ISS you will be able to ……………………………..

• Read in real-time critical soil conditions:

-Moisture
-Temperature
- Salinity

• Make educated water budget decisions bases on actual soil moisture
• Prevent irrigation if soil moisture is at or above desired level
• Automatically adjust station runtimes to match desired moisture level

With the exception of a few punch list items the irrigation renovation is complete on holes 11-18 of the Hills course therefore the back nine will re-open for play on 7/2/11 once we complete scheduled cultural practices on the Hills and Highlands next week. We’ll now begin installation of the irrigation on the front 9 so these holes will be closed beginning 6/27/11 with a tentative completion date of 8/17/11.Once the Hills course is finished will begin installation on Grand Club Drive. Some of the punch list items include cart path repair, sod installation within impacted areas and gravel installation around grounding.

Holes 11-14 of the Hills course have been completed as part of the phase 2 Irrigation Renovation. Holes 15-18 are next on the schedule in an effort to complete the back 9 of the Hills and TPCA staff continues to have a vital role as it relates to quality control during installation. Potential punch list items are being addressed as we move forward but the final inspection will be performed by Aqua Turf International at which time all aspects will be reviewed by the parties involved. I’ll keep everyone informed of any schedule changes that may occur via the information channels we’ve established here at TPCA which include the Friday Flash, TPCA website & Irrigation blog as the project moves forward.