Collegiate intramural and practice fields by nature are probably the most used and abused turf installations. A tight schedule of daily football drills during the school year, coupled with increasing demands of intramural practices of men's and women's soccer, rugby, lacrosse and public field activities, places unimaginable stress on turf grass, and little time for maintenance.

The 200,000 square-foot complex at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), was no exception. Over the past decades keeping grass alive, much less in an acceptable condition, was a daunting task considering the arid and windy conditions in a high desert climate. High output sprinklers theoretically provide the calculated coverage needed. In actuality, water distribution was determined by wind patterns and surface flow on the compacted landscape. Low lying areas turned into puddles and then mud holes, while higher ground areas received too little water at the root zone for satisfactory turf growth. Some areas were so compacted that hardness coefficients matched that of paved parking lots.

The 10-foot pans of the ECS system are designed to evenly distribute water by non-pressurized means. The seven-inch high side walls are folded in place and stabilized by compacted sand. Transition between liners is taped to provide a watertight seal.

In the spring of 2000, the athletic department agreed to enter into a purchase agreement with Evaporative Control Systems, Inc., a Reno based company that had introduced a newly patented subsurface irrigation and drainage system. "We had four major issues we were trying to address: 1) A consistent water system for maintaining our two practice fields with an even distribution of water, 2) Reduction in injuries due to poor irrigation, 3) Reduction in maintenance, and 4) Reduction in the usage of water, therefore creating a savings," explained Chris Ault, Director of Athletics at UNR.

The UNR athletic field had areas that were so compacted that it had a hardness coefficient matching that of a parking lot. The goals of UNR's director of athletics were to have a consistent water system, reduce injuries, reduce maintenance and reduce water usage. The ECS systems offered a solution to all of these problems.

Construction started in May, 2000 by abandoning the existing sprinkler system in place and laser leveling and compacting the base surface. Rather than excavating out the needed 13 inch sand fill profile of ECS systems, the system was built over the existing soil by providing suitable perimeter containment for the sand fill. ECS technology incorporates unitized cell construction where a 30 millimeter thick underground liner pan prevents water loss to the subsoil, and the patented ECS pipe that controls the distribution of non-pressurized water in a defined pattern through gravity. The pipe also prevents sand intrusion into the chamber interior to prevent blockage. As in most modern athletic fields the fill material in ECS systems is washed sand. Through the creation of constant underground reservoir ECS systems rely on the capillary rise of water through sand to create a perfect moisture level for turf growth 10 inches above the water line.

The first layer of gravel is dumped into the 10-foot pans. The ECS system uses 50 percent less water than sprinklers and 25 percent less than drip systems. Furthermore, zero percent of the water is wasted because the system captures water for future use while draining the excess water.

ECS systems are also designed to be simultaneous drainage systems with the added ability to harvest all available water during rain events for automatic future use. At UNR the design has the ability to drain rainfall of amounts up to 11 inches per 24-hour period. Other design patterns of ECS can incorporate rainfall events up to 23 inches of rain per 24 hours. While effectively and quickly draining the excess water when needed, the last three inches of water are retained in a built-in underground reservoir.

At UNR the 10 foot square pans were aligned in a linear fashion for the length of the field. As one section was completed, another section was attached to the previously constructed section until the entire field area was covered.

After the compaction is completed, water is introduced into the system. The source of the water comes from a single one-inch pvc line and spreads from cell to cell.

A crew of 10 men completed the first 54,000 square feet of the field in five days. The entire 200,000 square-foot complex was finished in two weeks.

After final compaction and grading of the sand surface, water is introduced into the system to fill the underground reservoir. Within 12 hours the moisture level rises to the surface and grows as the water moves from one ECS cell to adjoining ECS cells. The moisture level is readily observable at the surface and the design level even provides adequate moisture to germinate seed.

Six interconnected water control catch basins (two per field) provided the start of the passive water supply for the entire field complex. The six basins were connected to a single one-inch PVC pressure line. The water level in the basin and subsequently in all of the fields was controlled by a simple float valve delivering between zero to six gallons per minute on a demand basis.

The turf was knitted and demonstrated two-inch long root growth within three weeks. At five weeks the turf was ready for sustained daily athletic use. 10-inch root growth in a 3-month period is not unusual for ECS systems, even from seed. The cellular construction assured even distribution of water and nutrients throughout the sand bed.

The ECS system at UNR's athletic field is equipped with six interconnected water control catch basins which act as the source of the water. The automatic float level control valves are demand driven and have a variable flow rate from zero to 20 gallons per minute. There are no electronics and no timers used in this system.

The relatively dry surface resists the germination of weeds, or the proliferation of the most common fungi related turf diseases. The dry surface also showed exceptional turf stability at the surface. Divots were hard to create due to the long anchoring roots, and the dry surface reduced skidding and turf smear at the surface. The combination assured footing for the athletes and an exceptional shock absorbent surface of 13 inches of sand. Injuries were notably reduced.

After three months, bent grass sod roots reach up to eight inches long.

A water meter was installed for the fields to measure water consumption. From August 17, through October 17, 2000, water requirements were reduced by 59 percent compared to historical water demands for sprinklered systems in the Reno high desert climate. Jim Connolly Consulting, Ltd., the agronomist consultant for the project was very interested in ECS as a way to achieve 100 percent irrigation efficiency, while maintaining high infiltration rates. "Even with a high drainage capacity, the plant is not subject to drought because the root zone is maintained at field capacity."

Sod installation on the field was completed on July 18, 2000. After just three weeks the grass had established strong roots.

The UNR field was the first large-scale installation implementing the ECS design. The company has design plans for another seven-field athletic field complex and a nine-hole golf course to add to its initial inventory of a dozen home landscaping projects.

"Through the course of the football season our fields were noticeably in better condition than in prior years. My instincts are that this system will be the irrigation system of the future," remarked Ault. His expectations were met.

Only two weeks later, the field was opened for daily use to the athletic teams. The system cut the historical conventional sprinkler demand in the Reno area from 0.33 gallons per square foot per day, to 0.12 gallons per square foot per day after just two months.

To get more information on the science and the company visit their web site at www.ecsgreen.com. Contact Jim Connolly Consulting at www.jccturf.com.