Water. A huge part of a superintendents job is deciding where water should go, and when it should go there. This applies in obvious ways to plant irrigation; making sure water is being delivered to greens, tees and the like. But many people don't realize that just as much thought must also be given to how to get rid of water. Drainage helps remove water from the stand of grass, but where does it go after that? In the case of the old drainage running down holes two and eight to Briergate drive, it was going onto the street.
During the summer the road was flooded, this winter it has been a sight of multiple ice build ups. A few weeks ago we met with the city to find out how we could work together and solve this problem. They gave us permission to splice our drainage into the storm sewer; a project we'd planned to undertake this spring.
However, with the (albeit disorienting) turn in weather we had for the last two weeks, I decided this would be a quick project we could knock before the return to colder though still unseasonably warm weather. After contacting the authorities and having the area marked for power lines, cable, and any other utilities, we exposed the city pipe and called in the city of Naperville's technicians. In typical fashion, the permitting process took several weeks, while the actual project was done in just over a day.
This should be the last we've seen of the icing problem there (knock on wood).
Elliott Dowling
