Winter Maintenance For Irrigation System

Once again it is that time of year to make sure last years water is out of the irrigation system in preparation for the long cold months ahead. The actual pump station has been shut down and winterized since the middle of November. This operation is completed by a contractor mechanic who specializes in maintaining the pump station.
However, the irrigation lines on the golf course and the valves that control the water flow thru these lines are winterized by the maintenance staff. We do this by pressurizing the system with high pressured air supplied by a compressor. Below are a couple of pictures explaining this process.



This is the compressor that is rented for the day to perform the blowout of residual water in the irrigation lines. All valves are opened so that air can freely flow throughout the lines pressurizing the system with air instead of water, so that irrigation heads can be activated to release the water within the lines.

The compressor's air hose is connected into a hose adapting port that is used for the retrieval of water during the season, but used to pump air into the lines this time of year during the blowout operation. When the lines are fully pressurized with air, the irrigation heads are manually turned on one hole at a time until water stops appearing from each individual head on each particular hole. This operation usually takes 8 hours to perform, by starting with the practice area, and then going #1 thru #18 with the activation of irrigation heads.

This is a picture i snapped this morning on December 13th, showing the scene at the clubhouse and practice green. This is just a reminder that winter is here, but hopefully this scene will not appear as many times as it did last year!