City council 9 17-13 watering of parks

City CouncilSeptember 17, 2013

Watering Frequency/Scheduling for City Maintained Parks/Sports Fields, Santa Fe Golf Course, and Fairmount Cemetery

Shane Kelton, Operations Director

Roger D. Havlak, Parks Superintendent

City of San Angelo

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Purpose• The purpose of this presentation is to receive direction

from City Council on irrigation practices of turf/trees for City maintained parks/sports fields, Santa Fe Golf Course, and Fairmount Cemetery as we move towards and into Drought Level III of our current ordinance.

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Areas for Discussion1. Texas Bank Sports Complex2. San Angelo Soccer Association3. Class AA and A park sites (newly renovated or

constructed, highly visible, and most utilized parks)• i.e. Visitor’s Center, Kid’s Kingdom, Kirby Park, etc.

4. Other park sites (Class B thru E sites)• i.e. Bell Park, Brown Park, Harmon Park, etc.

5. Santa Fe Golf Course6. Fairmount Cemetery

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Reason for Supplemental Irrigation• To sustain healthy landscapes and safe playing

surfaces for the enjoyment of our general public• To minimize soil erosion and excessive weed

populations• To avoid the replacement costs from plant injury/death

due to drought stress.

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Current Status• Parks Department maintains a total of 555 acres.

• 356 acres in parks; 199 acres in sports fields• 292 acres (parks and sports fields) have viable irrigation systems• 150 acres of the irrigated sites have both an underground irrigation

system and drip irrigation• Drip irrigation only provided to newly established/planted trees, shrubs

and ornamental plants (i.e. Firefighter’s Memorial City Park)

• 173 acres are currently being irrigated• i.e. Highly visible, most utilized, newly renovated/constructed sites

• Santa Fe Golf Course has 36 acres of irrigated turf/trees.• Fairmount Cemetery has 57 acres of irrigated turf/trees.

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Costs for Water• Pay an average of $4.20 per 1,000 gallons• Costs approximately $114 per acre for one inch of water• Supplemental irrigation requirements range from 28 to 56

inches of water per year, depending on the quality desired and amount of rainfall

• At 38 inches of water per year, cost is $4,332 per acre• Texas Bank Sports Complex (55 acres) = $238,000/year• Parks with viable irrigation systems (194 acres) = $840,000/year• Santa Fe Golf Course (36 acres) = $156,000/year• Fairmount Cemetery (57 acres) = $247,000/year

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Costs for Water (cont.)

• Annual Budget for FY 2013-2014• Texas Bank Sports Complex = $40,965• Parks = $207,948• Fairmount Cemetery = $15,115

• Only allows for 2 to 3 irrigations of one inch of water per year

**An obvious deficit exists in the water budget for all sites.

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Current Tree Assessment

Location Total Trees

Stressed Trees

Dead Trees

Parks/Sports Fields 3,438 398(12%)

84(2%)

Santa Fe Golf Course 352 34(10%)

4(1%)

Fairmount Cemetery 1,576 88(6%)

42(3%)

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Firefighter’s Memorial City Park(Irrigation system on)

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Sunken Garden(Irrigation system off)

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Sunken Garden(Irrigation system off)

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Harmon Park(Irrigation system off)

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Harmon Park(Irrigation system off)

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Rio Concho Section D(No viable irrigation system)

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Issues related to irrigation and trees:1. Water budget funding deficits2. Funds for increasing drip or traditional irrigation systems

• Irrigation parts• Labor for installation• Future maintenance costs• Labor for future maintenance

3. Limitations on changing current systems in place4. Initial stress on trees from ditching during and

immediately following installation of systems5. Increased amount of water used following installation

Options for trees along the north side of river:1. Drip irrigation on every tree (parts and installation)

• Bid for Concho Street to 1st Street = $154,612• Bid for Golf Course (S. Abe Street to Beauregard Street) = $142,638• Most expensive, but most efficient use of water

2. Quick-Coupler Connections• Estimated costs for parts and installation = $1,440 per Quick-Coupler• Physically move hoses from one tree to the next• Expensive and labor intensive; lacks water use efficiency

3. Drip irrigation from 1,000 gallon tanks• Utilizing 2 tanks, Labor Ready workers, and light duty City Staff• 250 to 500 gallons per tree; approx. 4 to 8 trees/day

4. Utilize existing irrigation system from Concho St. to 1st St.• Estimated costs for repairs at golf course = $60,000 to $75,000• Limits tree stress with no ditching, but less efficient use of water• Future water and maintenance costs; labor issues

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Quick-Coupler Connections

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Two 1,000 gallon water tanks in use

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Questions:1. Do you want to continue irrigating City sites that are

currently receiving supplemental irrigation?2. Do you want to increase or decrease the overall

number of irrigated sites?3. If we enter into Drought Level III, do you want to

continue irrigating park systems, sports fields, Santa Fe Golf Course, or Fairmount Cemetery?

4. What adjustments will be made for the deficits in the water and maintenance budgets for all City sites?

Watering Frequency/Scheduling

Areas for Discussion1. Texas Bank Sports Complex2. San Angelo Soccer Association3. Class AA and A park sites (newly renovated or

constructed, highly visible, and most utilized parks)• i.e. Visitor’s Center, Kid’s Kingdom, Kirby Park, etc.

4. Other park sites (Class B thru E sites)• i.e. Bell Park, Brown Park, Harmon Park, etc.

5. Santa Fe Golf Course6. Fairmount Cemetery