Turbines

Most people have never seen our irrigation pumping station. We are fortunate to have an excellent pump system. Although we have had to replace a couple of pumps and motors over the years, we have a very efficient system. Capable of 3500 gallons per minute maximum capacity, it allows us to water the golf course and community in a shorter time window. The system consists of four variable speed turbine pumpsand one smaller pump called the PM pump. While the turbines provide the bulk of the work when there is demand, the PM pump maintains the pressure to the system when the turbines are not in use. Without this system, my job would be impossible. The system is totally computerized which allows the turbines to “think” when watering. Combine this with a totally computerized irrigation control system, and it is efficiency at it’s finest. I am able to control the system from my office or remotely from home.

The golf course has over 850 sprinkler heads. Every one of those sprinkler heads are adjustable from 360 degrees to 5 degrees. This is something that we did not have before our renovation three years ago. I have adjusted every head on the course for maximum efficiency. Each one of the 850 sprinklers have their arc data input into the computer. What this allows me to do is to water by evapotranspiration rates or ET rates. I can set the system to put 1/4 inch of precipitation and the computer will run the specified sprinkler for a certain amount of time based on the arc of the spray pattern. A 360 degree head might run for twenty minutes, where a 180 degree head would run for half of that time. Technology in irrigation systems has come a long way in the last twenty years.