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18 Facts about the Victoria Golf Club Drainage & Irrigation Project
- The project cost was $4.5-million.
- The upgrade immediately produced a 30-percent reduction in water usage.
- The first shovels and surveyors' stakes went in the ground September 3rd, 2003. After 8 months of work, all 18 holes were ready for play May 8th, 2004.
- Cost of construction was borne entirely by Victoria Golf Club members.
- More than 1200 sprinkler heads were installed, connected to 10 miles of pipes.
- The high-density polyurethane piping may last for 50 years; the sprinkler heads have an average lifespan of 12 years.
- The previous system, most of which was installed in 1985-86, was aging rapidly and the club faced an estimated $100K a year in increased maintenance costs.
- From anywhere on the course, the system allows groundskeepers to download Palm Pilot readings from a newly installed weather station and then select the most efficient watering pattern for that area for that day.
- Each sprinkler head is instantly and individually programmable giving much better spread in the ever-changing wind.
- The new system reduces the overall time needed to water the course, from an average of 10 hours to 5 hours per day/night. Much of this can be done when demand is at its lowest (between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.)
- The upgrade results in the Distribution Uniformity improving from 55% to more than 90%. (DU is a formula to rate the effectiveness of commercial watering systems).
- The weather sensor continually monitors envapo-transporation (the rate the atmosphere is absorbing moisture from the land) and responds to it. eg Last Sunday, the computer determined the sprinklers needed to provide .16 in. of rain to offset that day's moisture loss. The system will ensure that 98% of moisture lost naturally is restored. Additionally, as always, all grass clippings are left on fairways or collected from greens and mulched back into the grounds.
- Victoria Golf Course Superintendent Paul Robertson is pursuing a Masters degree in Environmental Sciences at Royal Roads University.
- The project was engineered to meet Department of Fisheries and Oceans criteria. Independent analysis has since confirmed there has been no leeching of runoff into the sea. Any drain outlets are above tide lines.
- More efficient watering helps reduce pests; meaning there will no longer be a need for summer fungicide applications, saving the course from the chemicals and the members of the club $10K per annum.
- It cost $40K to remove bedrock blocking the drainage and irrigation corridors on the ocean side of the course.
- For 111 years, Victoria Golf Course has provided 100 acres of greenspace amid urban development. It offers a unique seaside habitat for birds and animals; and breathtaking vistas for walkers and joggers.
- Members, who've adapted to course closures all winter, get back to 18-hole play Saturday – a day of golf and evening of social events themed around '18'.
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