Drill a well instead of using city water?

Over the years, it has been my understanding that well water could not be used by most district club operations inside the 270 corridor due to its high salt content.  Brian Kohnen, a member at our club did some investigating and got an official version of that story from DNR in the letter below.  Also, even if the water was in good condition to use for turf, one of the things I had forgotten was that the volume of water that can be received from drilling a well is way below what is necessary for us to recharge our system daily.  The output in our area from a well is under 25 gallons per minute 36,000 gallons a day.(36K gallons is nothing to sneeze at and would be helpful but the water is not usable because of the high salt content).  We are in need of 10 times that amount during our heaviest usage periods during the summer.  Wells can run between $ 15-20,000 to drill.

Mr. Kohnen,

The location you provided was not quite as accurate as it needed to be (usually three or more digits after the decimal place are helpful).  However, it was close enough that along with the two logs you referred to I was able to get a good general location.  It appears the golf course you are interested in would be either the Glen Echo or Normandy course (?).  I looked at the geology across the general area of those two golf courses, and the information below is a summary.

There are major issues with getting a well to the desired yield in this general area.  Unfortunately even with 150 acres to utilize, the problems extend well beyond that distance.  Based on all the data available, I would have to say that the chance of constructing a well capable of producing over 200 gpm of useable water is extremely poor.  We had discussed the option of multiple wells feeding into a reservoir, but that may not be cost effective given the low yield of the wells that produce useable water in this general area.  That is something I suggest you discuss with your well drilling contractor and course manager.

This area has a very low yield in the bedrock between ground surface to approximately 400 to 500 feet (depending on ground surface elevation).  The yields produced generally ranges from 1 to 10 gallons per minute (gpm).   While there is considerably higher yield available in the bedrock below this depth, the water quality degrades very quickly.  There have been very few wells drilled in this area over the years, due to the conditions mentioned above.  I have looked at the water analysis from the wells of record closest to your location.

The well closest to your location was drilled to a total depth of 460 feet.  The water quality analysis done reported the following levels (in parts per million, ppm): Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) 532, Chlorides 27, Sodium 148, iron 2.09.  While the iron level could be problematic, overall the water would seem to be of a useable quality.  The main problem is that the well yield was estimated at 1 gpm.  None of the surrounding wells I researched that produced from this ‘zone’ were in excess of 7 gpm.

All the data from deeper wells indicates the water quality degrades very quickly below that depth.  A well to the west of your location had unusable water (TDS over 6,000, Chlorides over 3,000) by 500 feet.    

Data from two wells approximately 1.5 miles south of this location (total depths 825 and 850 feet) indicated the yield was still less than 75 gpm.  At this depth the TDS was over 5,300, the Chloride levels were over 2,500, and the Sodium levels were in excess of 1,500.  

I’m not sure what quality of water you could still find useable for your purpose (greens irrigation).  You may wish to consult with the county extension office in your area or your greens expert as to what levels of mineralization the grass you use can tolerate.

Please see the attached map.  This is the area reviewed, if it is not correct please let me know and I can revise the review area as needed.  I’m sorry there is not better news concerning water quality and quantity in your area, if I can be of any further assistance please feel free to contact me via any of the methods listed below.

Sincerely,

Matthew Parker, RG

Division of Geology and Land Survey

Geological Survey Program

Wellhead Protection Section

P.O. Box 250  Rolla, MO 65402

573/368-2170

573/368-2317 (fax)

email: matt.parker@dnr.mo.gov

#9 lake spillway pipe replacement

Last season, a number of sinkholes developed in the lawn area just below the spillway on #9 down to the main road bridge.  We used our backhoe to dig up the area and found that the 15" drain pipe was leaking a rather large amount of water underneath the pipe.  The hole still remained in the lawn and I told the staff to dig up the line to see the complete issue.  Skip dug up the line and found multiple failures up and down the line.  The complete bottom of the pipe had rusted and was separated from the rest of the pipe. Around 160' in total length.  The water that uses this line should be going to the small lake in front of #10 red tee box and ultimately flow into our irrigation lake.  Some of the water was making it into the lake but a lot of water was soaking into the ground creating additional sinkholes and possibly compromising the footings in and around the bridge on the main road.  We are currently digging up this line and will be replacing it over the next few days with dual walled hdpe pipe which will last past our life times.  


We had to cross over 2 small lines and luckily an 8" main went under the pipe.  Also, a number of wire bundles had to be exposed to prevent them from being damaged.  More pictures to follow.

Failed pipe that was leaking over flow water from #9 lake.

Additional issues throughout the full length of the pipe.  A 2" new irrigation line was pulled through the pipe during the installation in 2007.  Also, complete bottom of the pipe was rotten. 

Fountain for #9

As you can see when you are out playing golf, there is no fountain in #9 lake.  Normally we will put the fountain in the lake around the end of April.  This season, we delayed the date for a few more weeks.  We had some electrical issues that we were facing and needed to make the repairs.  Other things took priority and it was pushed to the back burner.

We finally made the repairs and attempted to get it started and upon installation, the fountain would pop a breaker and there was no power.  Found out that the pump was bad and it is on order.  Also, during the install, a plastic sleeve was broken and needed to be repaired as well.  The fountain has been on order for at least 10-12 days and has not arrived.  Our vendor is checking to see if it is back ordered.  At this rate, we might have the fountain ready by the 4th of July.  Thanks for your patience.

Microbes placed in #10 lake doing their job

The microbes that we placed in 10 lake in June are finally doing their work.  We have not sprayed the lake with any algaecide product in at least 3 weeks even though it has been extremely hot.  The algae that is usually seen floating in a 3-5' ring around the edges of the lake is now being controlled by the little bugs that are chewing up the organic matter on the floor of the lake.  Without any source of food, the algae will not form.

Fountain installed for the season

The staff installed the water fountain on #9 lake for the season.  Last season we had to do a major rebuild on the protective cage and some wiring work.  This season was simple, load it up, drop it in the water and plug it in.

Asst Skip/his boat and Russ aligning the fountain in the lake.  Mechanic Harry is holding the end of the line and preparing to plug it in.

The fountain operating at the end of the day.

Dredging Lake on #10

We are doing some quick dredging of the small lake on #10 in an attempt to assist in reducing some of the algae blooms that occur from time to time. Our backhoe can extend out into the pond but is probably about 5' shorter than we would like to see. We are going to increase some depth in the first 5-8 feet of the pond which should give a little more water capacity and help to reduce slightly some of our algae blooms that occur. Draining the lake and working in late fall our winter would be our best course of action which we will discuss at a later date with the green committee. I have mentioned to the membership in other communications that our water retention system needs improvement to help us reduce city water costs and improve the aesthetics of our lake systems.
Assistant Skip is using the backhoe and our single axle dump truck to haul the material back into our dump storage site.

Algae in Lake on hole #10

If you've been out to the course in the last week or so, you've seen the algae forming on the lake on hole #10. A yearly problem at Glen Echo. Our biggest problem with this lake is the fact that it is so shallow which allows the organic material(leaves and grass clippings) which has plenty of access to light to breakdown in the water causing the formation of the algae.

I also took this picture because of the two visitors in the background. We've had a couple of new wading birds on the property the last few days. I have not ID them at this time but will try to do so in the next few days or until they leave the property. With regret, the baby ducklings which were pictured a couple of weeks ago are no longer on property. I'm not going to guess what happened with them.

We will be treating the lake in the next few days with a microbial product which will eat away at the sludge and organic material at the bottom of the lake. This material is not available until around June 1st because water temperatures have to be high enough to sustain the microbes and allow them to do their work. Also, hopefully most of the heavier spring rains have begun to diminish which helps to keep the microbes in our lakes and not wash away off property.

We would like to do some light dredging in house with our backhoe and dump truck in the next few weeks to attempt to increase the depth slightly next to the shoreline. Ultimately, the lake system needs a complete overhaul to increase the overall depths of our lakes, improve the shoreline appearance and most importantly expand the irrigation lake on #15. Increasing of our capacity and ability to store water is very important. This type of investment in our property has a real return in not only lowering out potential fresh water costs but is an environmentally sound principle as well. This type of work is best accomplished in the late fall or early winter once the need for irrigation is complete. In 2009 with record high rainfall of all time, we spent

$ 45k in water. In 2008 during a year of pretty high temperature and a long hot dry spell in August, we spent around $ 110k for the season. It really pays to store your own water. It is also important for our staff to monitor our irrigation needs and keep the facility on the dry side for better plant health, playability and conservation of a very important resource.