Arrowhead Country Club: Irrigation additions

The improvements, alterations, and additions to the irrigation system (installed in 1978) will be on-going until a new, more functional and efficient system is finally installed. The amendments help "band-aid" inefficiencies and deficiencies, and have allowed us to operate the system to it's limited potential and then some. We recently installed the system's first ARV (Air relief valve) on a recently discovered, dead-end, 4" mainline at the very north point of the course. This line was not present on any of the original "as-builts" and was not known to exist. Even Luis Franco was unaware of it's existence. Just another mystery that resides under the turf at ACC.

With the consistent leaks and requirement of shutting the system down for repair, air enters the hydraulic system. The air, when compressed by the infusion of water into the pipes, creates what is called "water hammer" and can be detrimental to the life span of the PVC pipe and fittings.

Installation of ARVs is common on most new systems. This addition will hopefully buy the system a few more years of use. A typical irrigation system's life expectancy is twenty five years. ACC's system is currently thirty two years old. The cost of a new system is always hard to swallow, but state water reduction requirements and energy costs will soon force a renovation.