2120024, 150 PM Sports Field Drainage
Home Sports Field Drainage —_ Natural Grass Field Drainage
Synthetic Turf Field Drainage Natural Turf Irrigation Synthetic Turf Irrigation
Golf Course Drainage & Irrigation Residential Drainage & Irrigation
Sports Field Drainage
and why it plays an important role in the health of your grass
One of the most important aspects for natural grass sports field construction is designing the field for
maximum drainage to remove excess moisture from rainfall prior to and/or during an event. If fields are
constructed without any type of underground drainage system and they do not have an adequate crown
to remove excess moisture from the field rapidly, the topsoil on the field becomes saturated and the
water will do one of two things, pond or run-off. In most cases, the water starts ponding because there is
little or no crown on the field. Playing games when the soil is saturated will cause severe damage to the
field and will increase the amount of soil compaction, which will only make the drainage problem within
the field worse. Over the years of working with sports field construction, | have always been amazed at
how little attention is given to this critical phase for sports field construction or how many times at the last
minute, the underground drainage system was removed from the original design specifications to try and
save money. Key factors to consider when designing drainage systems for a sports field include;
movement of water onto the field from surrounding areas, type of soil and soil depth, ability to remove
‘excess water away from the field ( storm sewer, creek, etc.) and weather factors such as rainfall
One of the first steps in assuring that a proper drainage system will be designed for a new or existing
sports field, is to hire an architectural firm and/or contractor that has extensive experience in the
drainage of sports fields. Just because someone knows how to run a backhoe, doesn't mean they can
drain a sports field, During the design phase, it is important to hire someone such as an experienced
sports field architect to develop a very detailed set of specifications for the sports field to be constructed
or renovated. | am also amazed at how many sports fields are built without any design specifications for
soil type and depth, drainage system, irrigation, etc. Then, when a problem arises with the field, the
school, college or city that contracted to have the field built has no recourse to have the problem
corrected.
Excess moisture is generally removed from the playing surface of a sports field in one of two ways,
surface run-off and through an installed underground drainage system. For sports fields built out of a
native soil, surface drainage is going to be the main means for removal of excess moisture from the field
to the sidelines where the underground drainage system picks up the excess water.
For football fields, the general guidelines is to provide a 2.5 % slope from the crown in the center of the
field to and past the sideline areas of the field. It is important to install a permitter drainage system on the
sideline areas of the field to remove the excess moisture from these areas of the field. You may lower the
crown of the field to 1.0 % slope from sideline to crown, but then an underground drainage system under
the whole field will be required. Note, many high school football and city park fields are also being used
for soccer following the football season. If this is the case, then the slope for the field needs to extend
well beyond the normal sideline area of the football field. If this is not done, then the sideline areas of the
football field were the players stand during games becomes torn up and this will make a very poor
playing surface for the soccer games. For soccer fields built out of native soils, the recommendation is to
provide a 1.0 to 2.5 % slope to the crown. While a 1.0 % slope to the crown is preferred by most soccer
players, they also don't like playing in a swamp. If an underground drainage system cannot be included
nipsufmidwestdrainage.com/Sports_Fleld_Drainage.himl 182120128, 1.50 PM Spots Field Drainage
in the design of the soccer field then it would be best to use a 2% crown for the soccer field to insure
good surface drainage, but a perimeter drain system is required along the edges of the field. While a
crown in the center of football and/or soccer field is the most effective method to provide for surface
drainage, it should be recognized that for some fields, surface drainage can be provided for by sloping
the entire field from sideline to sideline or from end zone to end zone, However, the further the surface
water has to flow to get off the field, the less effective the surface drainage becomes. Any low areas in
the grade will disrupt the flow of surface water from the field and a drainage system is all but required.
For baseball fields, the high point of the field should be the pitchers mound, which is normally 10 inches
higher than home plate. Then the field should be sloped in all four directions away from the mound at a
1.0 to to 1.5 % slope. As with football and soccer fields, this slope needs to continue to the sideline areas
of the field and then some type of drainage system installed to remove excess moisture from this area of
the field. Also, for baseball fields it is very important that this 1 to 1.5% slope continue across the skinned
portions of the baseball field and into the outfield. If constructed correctly, there will be very little
movement of water down through the soil profile in the skinned area of the field. Surface drainage is the
main method to remove excess water from this portion of the baseball field. Another problem that often
‘occurs on baseball fields is the build up of lips on the grass areas next to the skinned area. These lips
will prevent water from flowing off the skinned area and into the grass portions of the field. Regular
maintenance practices should be used to prevent the occurrence of lips around the skinned portion of
the field. From the skinned area, the field is then sloped at a 1.0 to 1.5% slope using a cone laser to the
outfield fence. Even with the slope in the outfield an underground drainage system will remove the water
Up to 6 times faster then without it. Which in turn brings the field back to playable conditions after a large
rain just hours before.
Another step in sports field drainage that is often overlooked by the inexperienced contractors, is.
removal of the excess moisture from the subgrade. Movement of water into the subgrade of the field can
only ocour once the topsoil profile becomes saturated. Then, drainage of the field occurs at the rate of
water percolation down through the subgrade, which as a rule is much slower than the percolation rate
for the topsoil. If means are not provided to assist in the removal of excess water once it hits the
subgrade, then the field will tend to hold water at the interface between the subgrade and the topsoil
During periods of heavy rainfall, the field then acts like a bathtub and fills up with water, thus dramatically
increasing the amount of time required for the field to drain, On native soil fields, it is very important that
the subgrade not be heavily compacted prior to placing the topsoil mix over the subgrade. Use of heavy
equipment is often one of the big mistake inexperienced contractors make in building a sports field. Once
the field is roughed in, only flotation tire and rubber track equipment should be permitted on the field
surface. Compaction of the subgrade will further reduce the flow of water from the topsoil profile down
into the subgrade, thus increasing the time required for removal of excess moisture from the topsoil. That
is why it is important to install an underground drainage system in the field to remove excess water from
the subgrade area of the field.
Correct installation of the drain lines in a new or existing sports field is critical to the successful removal
of excess moisture from the field during heavy rainfall periods. Spacing for the trenches should be at a
20 to 30 foot spacing for sand based fields. However, on native soil fields | would recommend a
maximum of 15 to 20 foot spacing. The grade on the trench should have a minimum positive slope of
0.5% with 1.0% grade if all possible. The use of trenchers such as the one shown below with a laser
attachment can insure that a uniform, continuous grade occurs in the base of the trench with minimal
mess do to the “no spoils" design of this unit. f any low areas ocour in the drainage trenches, it will
impede the flow of water through the drain lines and thus allow the fine soil particles, silt and clay, to
settle out in the bottom of the drain lines and eventually plug up the drain lines. If the soil is not stable,
then it may be necessary to line the drainage trench with a filter fabric in order to keep the silt and clay
soil particles found in the subgrade from moving into the trenches and thus slowing down the movement
of water into the drainage pipe. Next, place a 2 inch layer of USGA spec pea gravel in the bottom of the
nipsufmidwestdrainage.com/Sports_Fleld_Drainage.himl2120128, 1.50 PM Spots Field Drainage
trench. Place the drain pipe used for drainage on top of the gravel layer and then top off the pipe with a
additional 2 inch layer of the same pea gravel material. For most sports fields, a USGA spec sand layer
is then placed over the gravel to the top of the drainage trench in the subgrade. Again, remember that it
is just as important to verify the bridging between the pea gravel and sand layer to make sure that the
sand does not filter into the pea gravel and then into you drainage system. A certified lab will be about
the verify the bridging effect. Most sports fields today use the corrugated HDPE pipe with fine slits (
perforated ) in the plastic for the drainage system. Note, the common size for drainage trenches in the
subgrade of sports fields is a eight inch width with a minimum eighteen inch depth to clear the irrigation
system and to make sure that the pipe is placed deep enough in the field so that aerification with a deep
tine aerifier will not pierce the pipe, You might be surprised how often this actually happens. For most
new or existing football fields with the proper slope from crown to sidelines, the drain lines are installed
lengthwise in the field. This requires much less trenching and also allows for maximum interception of
water flowing from the center of the field toward the sideline areas of the field.
Midwest Drainage LLC
Lee’s Summit, Missouri, 64086
¢ Email alan@midwestdrainage.com
Made on a Mae Phi 816-918-9445 Fax# 816-525-2124
nipsufmidwestdrainage.com/Sports_Fleld_Drainage.himl