The Club at Patriots
Glen
(Golf course)
LOCATION
Elkton, Md.
PRODUCT
USG™ Industrial Ground Gypsum
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"By the end of the week it was so clear you could see seven feet
into the water."
 Travis
Barbee
Job Superintendent
Wadsworth Golf Construction
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Gypsum Clears up the Muddy Waters
at Maryland's New Patriots
Glen Golf Course
There's not much
red clay in Maryland, but there's plenty where Ryland Homes chose to build its
newest golf course and housing development. It should have been obvious to all.
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| Patriots Glen 17th hole
before construction. |
For starters, The
Club at Patriots Glen is being built in Elkton, Maryland - on the corner of Red
Hill Road and Muddy Lane - if that doesn't hint as to the soil's character.
Then there's the perspective of history. Patriots Glen is aptly
named, because it lies close to where British General William Howe - leading an
armada of 265 ships - got stalled by the muck and mud of the Elk River on his
way to Philadelphia in 1777.
Finally, there was one proposed site use
- construction of a red-clay brick factory - that never made it. The plan was
scrapped by city fathers, who approved a golf course instead.
Everyone knew, of course, that Elkton had red sediment. But few realized the
prized, patriotic clay would pose problems for the pond at Hole 17.
"Our
irrigation pond became terrible muddy," says Patriots Glen project
superintendent Jim Kelley. "It filled up with suspended red clay particles,
which created problems on the greens and with the sprinklers. We had to get rid
of those particles."
The Patriots Glen pond at Hole 17 holds eight
million gallons of water and serves as both a storm water reservoir for the
town of Elkton and an irrigation source for the golf course. Based on his
previous experience and research, Kelley decided to use a gypsum product that
had been developed to keep farm ponds clear of suspended sediment. He chose to
treat the clay-laden pond using USG™ Industrial Ground Gypsum from USG
Corporation Industrial Products. Travis Barbee, job superintendent, Wadsworth
Golf Construction, which is building Patriots Glen, helped source the product
and the professional application equipment.
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| Sample testing was used
to determine proper amounts of gypsum needed to clear the Patriot's Glen
pond. |
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| Treating the pond with
USG's Industrial Ground Gypsum. |
USG's Industrial
Ground Gypsum - hydrated calcium sulfate - is a finely ground gypsum powder
that dissolves in water. When applied to muddy ponds, the product causes
suspended clay particles in the water to clump together into clusters or
"floccules" and settle out because of their weight, leaving the water clear
within just a few days.
The use of gypsum to clear turbidity has been
studied by the University of Missouri College of Agriculture's Soils and
Agricultural Engineering Departments. Lakes up to 40 acres in size have been
successfully treated using the product.
Kelley, who is a certified
golf course superintendent and president of Evergreen Turf Inc., a golf course
construction management company, had his crews apply USG Industrial Ground
Gypsum using a hydroseeder. The four-man crew took 11 hours to cover the 6-acre
pond evenly.
Depending upon the size of the body of water being
treated, and the level of erosion containment available onsite, the gypsum
takes a few days to begin having noticeable effect. At Patriots Glen, the pond
began lightening up on the second and third day after application.
"By the end of the week," Barbee says, "it was so clear you could see seven
feet into the water."
"If there was any draw back to the treatment,"
Kelley says, "it was that the water cleared up so well that we started having a
problem with algae."
Algae accumulation occurs frequently in golf
courses ponds, and Kelley treated the problem at 17 by using a blue dye to
filter out sunlight. After this summer's treatment, the pond remains clear with
a slight blue tint.
"Most of the areas contributing clay particles
have been stabilized now," Kelley says. "There's a chance that if we had a
major rain it would cloud up again, but I believe the calcium content in the
water is probably high enough to settle out most anything new. It all depends
on how much rain we get. We'll treat it again if necessary."
The Club
at Patriots Glen course construction will be completed this fall. The grand
opening will officially be next spring. Four-bedroom homes in the development
start at $188,900. Two-bedroom residences are priced at $159,990.
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