Golf Course Irrigation
Over three years of research and planning will come before the Board in February. The Golf Course Irrigation Project is in the final stages of approval and will be on the February 9 Regular Session Board Meeting Agenda.
Current Golf Course Irrigation System
The Green Committee has put in a significant amount of work since 2017 to identify and record the failures in the golf course irrigation system. They also are recommending a new high-efficiency system to replace the old and outdated equipment. The current golf course irrigation system was installed in 1996, and many of the components are beyond their life expectancy. For instance, the weather station has been out of service for about a year, plus the irrigation controllers are deteriorating regularly, and parts are scarce. Additionally, the irrigation heads fail frequently, and a lot of maintenance labor is spent on patching the system. Further, two of the irrigation pumps are outdated, extremely inefficient, and in need of replacement. Tests showed that our main irrigation pump was operating at 50% efficiency. In addition to all of that, the underground lateral lines are failing regularly. A need for a new system is apparent.
Project Status
Research was done into both RainBird and Toro for the latest technology that could improve irrigation coverage and efficiency for both water and energy savings. It was determined the new design and the RainBird IC system would provide 14.6% water savings and significant energy savings with the two new pump stations. It is projected to yield a $90,000 annual savings at today’s water prices. The project was presented to the Board on July 7, 2020 and design fees were approved the following month. The RFP went out in December, and bids were received January 15, 2021. All four bidders were recommended and prequalified by the architect so that once the bids are compared the selection would be simple.
Moving Forward
If approved, the work should begin on March 1 and can be completed in four months, or over two years, depending on how aggressive the Board wants to be with the schedule. A short project will cost less but would impact play for a good portion of the 2021 season. However, a longer-term project will cost significantly more, but the impact on play will be for shorter periods, over a longer two-year period. The irrigation replacement cost will be fully funded from the Repair & Reserve Account and will not affect the member dues.
The contractor will work on one hole at a time for about a week, before moving on to the next hole. This will provide for minimum interruption to play with 17 holes open for most of the construction time. The months of March through June were selected for the project because of their typically mild temperatures that will allow for portions of the irrigation system to be shut down for a few days at a time without severe damage to the turf. The following warmer months will help promote the Bermuda turf recovery from the construction work more rapidly. This period is also the peak season for golf tournaments on the course. Every effort will be made to work with tournament organizers for a successful event regardless of the project's length.
Contact Us
As always, we encourage you to email the Board at board@canyonlakepoa.com or attend our Board Meetings. Our next Board Meeting is on Tuesday, February 9 at 6 p.m. This meeting will be a virtual meeting through Zoom and members may join at vm.clpoa.net.
