Background
Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Stafford, West Midlands. The club currently plays in the Northern Premier League, Premier Division – the seventh tier of English football. The club play at the long-established Marston Road stadium, which holds a spectator capacity of 3000. Access were asked to provide a system to take care of the Stafford Rangers FC Pitch Watering.
The Pitch Watering Project
Access Irrigation were responsible for the design and supply of the complete irrigation system watering the substantial, full size football pitch of 66m x 100m. The system included a substantial, 10,000 litre tank constructed of black HDPE, with a Type AB air gap to comply with the Water Regulations regarding backflow prevention. This large tank was included to ensure that there was always a substantial reservoir of water in place to enable the system to operate efficiently, being positioned on a firm, level concrete base. A Lowara 5HM single phase horizontal pump was used to provide a pressurised water supply to the system, which for convenience was supplied pre-assembled and mounted on a powder-coated steel frame, with this frame securely bolted down to the concrete surface beneath, located adjacent to the tank. An on/off valve was fitted after the tank outlet to enable the system to be turned on and off when required, with a Geka outlet fitting positioned after this to be connected to commercial grade 1” wide Tricoflex hose via a Geka hosetail. So, whenever the system was ready to be operated, the hose would simply be connected to the Geka outlet, via the Geka hosetail, and once connected, the valve then manually turned open – the pump operating as soon as pressure drops due to the open valve.
Once the hose reached the corner of the pitch nearest the pump & tank, it then ran into a small, round valve box buried underground (the first of four along the run), with the hose at this point connected to 32mm MDPE supply pipe, which then ran along the whole edge of the pitch width nearest the pump & tank, with the additional three valve boxes spaced out at equal intervals along this edge. Within each of these additional valve boxes were fittings comprising take off points, to enable the supply pipe to connect to the Speedy Rain 32/90 reel irrigator 
(via the reel irrigators inlet hose). An on/off valve was also housed within each valve box to enable each zone to be turned on and off in order – ensuring that the system was split into 3 separate zones, enabling adequate pressure and flow for each zone. The Speedy Rain is a fantastic reel irrigator, offering a simple and cost-effective solution to watering sports fields. An efficient piston drive ensures minimal pressure loss, and the sprinkler is mounted on a trolley, enabling reliable, sturdy operation. When operating, the piston fills with water pushing upwards on a lever which turns the reel, thus rewinding the sprinkler pipe. The water inside the piston is then ejected directly onto the ground and this operation is then continually repeated. At each of the three take off points, starting from the furthest one (at the end of the pitch width edge) and working backwards, the irrigator is wheeled into position and the sprinkler sled pulled out all the way to the end of the pitch. Then, during operation, the sprinkler trolley will retract all the way back to the take off point, watering the pitch as it moves. When the trolley returns to the reel, it automatically switches off the water supply and the sprinkler stops operating, giving peace of mind that no water will be wasted once each section of the pitch has been watered.
The Result – Comprehensive Pitch Watering
The Stafford Rangers FC Pitch Watering system has been a convenient, all-inclusive watering system of tremendous benefit to the club, ensuring that the whole pitch is watered thoroughly and evenly. Our system has saved a substantial amount of time, effort and stress caused by their previous watering method, which involved moving several individual risers around the pitch numerous times, with several areas of the pitch receiving insufficient water, or no water at all – ensuring that our system has resulted in incomparably better pitch quality. We are delighted with the result and are proud to play our part in helping to create a superior, greener pitch, helping to promote better play for both players and spectators to enjoy.
