Sunday, August 12, 2012

Outta water

A bit of a disappointment based on the volume in the river :
August 12
but looking back to last year it is not a surprise.  I was able to contact the Ministry in December of 2011 and discussed some plans.  I began contacting them again by mid-July with no response.  This recent development is a very serious problem (especially based on the early date and the fact that the river volume is more than adequate, the intake is just silted in too much) and we need to perform major work.  At present, we can run one pump at 190 GPM.  Demands on the course are averaging 400 000 GPM per night.  The math is fairly obvious: most water the river pump house can supply in a 24 hour period is approximately 270 000.  That gives us a deficit of 130 000 per night.  The reservoir holds 4 000 000  gallons so in about 30 days (September 12) the reservoir is empty.  The best solution is to clean the intake but without Ministry approval no contractor will perform the work.  Further, we may be unable to do the required work if we are turned down because of fish values, river volume, or the date on the calendar.  We can approach the city and buy water to supplement the river pump house supply but the reality is we need to perform the required work, there really is no option and I am tired of down playing the situation at the river.

 Obviously, I will limit irrigation but everything will suffer and expect to see lots of this:

Cart and Walking Damage on
Heat Stressed Turf
More Damage
Inattentiveness, indifference, and general ignorance may cause a rash of this damage.  Look for turf that is heat stressed (it will appear blue or gray) and stay away.  Keep to areas that are green and healthy looking.  I'll keep you posted.