Improving D.U. (Distribution Uniformity)

One of the elements to water conservation is improving DU or distribution uniformity.  Distribution uniformity is a measure of how uniformly water is applied over a given area.  Sprinkler nozzles and sprinkler spacing greatly influence DU and have negatively impacted water consumption in the past.  The lower the percentage of DU, the longer a sprinkler head will need to run to "flood" an area.  The higher the DU percentage the less time a station or sprinkler will need to run to supply ample moisture based on ET.  At ACC we have corrected spacing issues on all of the greens and upgraded the sprinkler nozzles to increase uniformity.  The photo below is just a sample of the multiple nozzles present on the course.  One major issue discovered was that the main blue/rear green nozzles prevalent on the course can only throw 58' optimally at our sprinkler base pressure.  This poses a monumental problem when our sprinkler spacing is 70+ feet.