More drainage issues

Last week I showed the process that we go through when looking for drain lines in really wet areas on the course. Recently we were working on #8 fairway between the fairway bunkers. The fairway turf was so wet and mucky that you couldn't even walk on it. We knew that something was really clogged or broken so we started digging. We found a line going across the fairway toward the creek but couldn't find the end of the pipe. It was buried in the bank so we ran a hose down it with the water on until we could locate and expose the end of the pipe.

We frequently find drain lines that are buried along creek banks. Once we got it flushed out we could tie into it with some new drain lines through the sloppy area.

Several new lines were added and week later the area has dried out and is playable. It was so wet in front of the 9th tee we knew there had to be some other line that was broken or plugged so we kept digging.

Finally we found an old 8" concrete line over by the cart path that was plugged full of tree roots. A tree had been planted directly on top of the drain line. As we dug on the other side of the path we found two more trees that had also been planted years ago on top of the line.

We had to dig up the stumps to get at the drain line and clean out all the roots. It was a lot bigger job that we expected.

With the stumps removed we were able to clean out the roots and add new sections of pipe. We could be dealing with this condition all over the course for years to come since there was no map of the drainage system when the trees were planted.
Steve Kealy
Golf Course Superintendent

Why is the course so wet?

I've been asked this question many times over the last month so I'll give it my best shot at answering. The record rainfall we have had since last October has exposed all of the problems with our drainage system. When the course was built there was no map of the drain lines given to the club management team. Several years after the course was built, trees were planted all over the course with some of them near or on top of drain lines. Fast forward 55 years to today and many of those tree roots have completely clogged the once flowing drainage system. With no plans of the system we don't know where many of the lines are located. When a wet area appears, we have to start digging to find the cause.

A large wet area developed this winter in the middle of the 13th fairway. We first go to the wettest spots and insert metal probes into the soil looking for gravel. Josh and Joe are shown above looking for gravel in hope of finding an existing drain line.

Once we find gravel then we start digging. 

A drain line was found and Tim is shown cutting into the line.

  

The next step is to insert a hose and run it up the line as far as it will go. The hose has a nozzle on the end that once the water is turned on will push the hose up the line as it cleans out all the slime and muck.

The nozzle shoots some of the water backwards which helps  move the hose up the drain line. 

Josh is shown flushing the "brown goo" out of this line in #13 fairway. 

When the hose stops moving up the line it's time to dig another hole to see if that is the end of the line or there is another blockage. We found that the line stopped across the fairway. It was in good condition so we inserted the hose on the other end of the pipe to see where the discharge point was located.

After running the hose for a minute or so the water backed up into the hole. The line was clogged somewhere on the other end. 

We found some water bubbling up so we dug and found the discharge end of the drain line buried about 8 feet from the creek. At the time this line was installed it discharged directly into the creek. The stream has moved toward #12 fairway and this drain line got buried in sediment over time. Once the line was flushed out the wet area in #13 fairway dried out in two days. Over the past two winters we have have been marking the location of drain lines discharging into the creeks with a green pipe. The pipe is pounded into the ground next to the drain line so we can find it if the creek channel moves and plugs up the line. This time it was the creek bed that clogged our drain line. In my next post I will show what happened on #8 fairway where three trees were planted in a row on top of an 8" main drain line. 

Steve Kealy 

Golf Course Superintendent

Clogged drain lines all over the course

We have had record rainfall this past fall and winter but there are some areas on the course that never dry out. Most of the time this is due to clogged drain lines and the biggest challenge for our staff is to locate the problem. When our golf course was in the planning stage there was a proposed drainage plan. During construction of the course the drainage plan was followed in some areas but not in others. The other problem is there are no "as built" plans for the drainage system that was installed. We do have photos and diagrams of the drainage we have installed over the past 25 years but that is just a small part of the entire system. There is another twist to the story. Several years after the course was built all of the trees were planted without knowledge of the drain line locations. We have found trees planted on top of drain lines that are completely plugged with tree roots.

The tree pictured above is located to the left of the 9th tee and blew over during a storm in March of 2016. This area was very wet every winter for at least the past twenty years. 

When we pulled out the stump we found an 6" drain line that the tree was sitting on and was completely full of tree roots. We had no idea that drain was even there. It must start somewhere across #4 or #3 fairway but still don't know it's origin.

Two weeks ago we found water coming out of the ground in the right rough on #9 about 50 yards from the green. 

After some digging by hand we found an 8" concrete drain line that was clogged. 

Look close and you can see the large Cottonwood tree roots coming out of the drain line. The concrete line was also clogged with roots so we had to get the excavator to dig until the pipe had no more roots. 

We removed about 20 feet of pipe that was clogged with roots. The Cottonwood tree that's causing the problem is over 40' away from this area

Check out our assistant superintendent Josh posing with a "trophy" sized root he pulled out from an adjacent drain line.  

Tree roots will continue to be a problem across the golf course for many years to come. As new wet areas appear, all we can do is start digging!

Steve Kealy

Golf Course Superintendent

High creek flow photos after winter storm

The winter storm that passed through Western Washington this past week brought us 8-9 inches of snow on Monday, .53 inches of rain on Tuesday, and 1.63 inches of rain on Thursday for a total of 3.05 inches of precipitation in four days. All of that rain resulted in a lot of runoff from the surrounding neighborhoods onto Glendale and into our two creeks. Monday's snow was in the form of wet heavy flakes that caused a lot of tree damage with branches down everywhere on the course. The crew did a great job of getting it picked up and run through our wood chipper by midday Thursday. High water flows in Kelsey Creek and the West Tributary cased flooding with damage yet unknown until the water recedes. Below are some photos taken Thursday afternoon.

 Starting at the north end of the course, water shooting through the culvert behind the 4th tee.

Looking south toward #8 tee from #8 fairway.

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                                          Standing on the bridge at #8 tee looking south.

                                          Looking across the creek at #8 tee bank.

                                           Looking upstream from the big bridge on #6.

 Standing on the walk bridge at #16 fairway looking downstream toward #16 tee.

                                   Standing on the bridge looking upstream at #16 tee.

                                    Looking downstream from the bridge on #11.

                                   On the cart path on #12 looking back toward the tee.

Looking downstream from the bridge at #13 tee,

                                       On the #12 white tee looking out at Lake Whitney.

Hopefully the creeks will go back to normal flow today so we can access the damage and get to work repairing whatever needs to be done.

Steve Kealy
Golf Course Superintendent

Mid winter aeration?

During the past two months we had 3.62 inches of rain in December and 3.08 inches in January for a total of 6.62 inches. That may seem like a lot, but nothing compared to the 16.68 inches that fell during October and November. The golf course has been so dry this week that we have been driving carts on fairways and even been out mowing the rough. The firm fairway conditions provided us with an opportunity to aerate and sand some wet areas that need extra attention.

The photo above is of the approach to #1 green. This area had some bad drainage (which has been repaired) but the turf is thatchy and needed to be aerated to get the water to move off the surface. We went out Tuesday and sanded them first then aerated over the top and pushed the sand into the soil profile.

#5 right rough, twenty yards short of the green.

 #1 fairway on the left side across from the 150 yard marker.

#18 fairway, 120 yards from the green.

#7 approach just short of the green.

All of these areas are places that are very much in play and many shots are hit from them. Later this winter/early spring we will get out again and repeat the process so this summer the areas will be firm and dry.

Steve Kealy

Golf Course Superintendent