Stormwater June 2012 : Page 42
Photos: LandTek Group Below the turf, more than 2 miles of piping drain and aerate the field. A playable field, glorious grass—all made possible by pipe More Than Drainage Built for the New York Mets, CitiField is sited on reclaimed marshland at Willets Point, just south of LaGuardia Airport. The stadium was erected on piles embedded into bedrock; however, the playing fi eld was designed to be independent of the stadium, to accommodate any future settling. “Because the stadium is on a former swamp, the playing fi eld is like a ‘bowl’ made of 3 feet of lightweight concrete fi ll. If it would settle, it would do so at the same rate. The playing fi eld is like a big cork in the middle of the stadium,” explains John Sulinski, vice president of operations for Ami-tyville, NY’s LandTek Group, which constructed the fi eld. Using corrugated HDPE pipe from Columbus, Ohio’s Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. (ADS), Sulinski’s fi rm cre-ated an underground piping system shaped like a tree. A 30-inch-diameter pipe runs under the fi eld, from behind home plate to the warning track. This 430-foot run of ADS N-12 WT pipe has watertight bell and spigot connections between sections. Connected to this trunk line are 6-inch-diameter lateral branches, 42 lines on each side, 10 feet apart. The HDPE pipe is perforated on the top to allow water to infi ltrate and will also provide a means for air ex-change in the turf. The project used 560 feet of 30-inch-di-ameter and 11,600 feet of 6-inch-diameter perforated pipe and 240 feet of 6-inch solid-wall HDPE pipe from ADS. Drainage, of course, is the main purpose of this piping system, and it has benefi ts for the baseball team as well; faster drainage means the Mets and their opponents can play much earlier after a rain. Draining away excess water also stops the natural turf from suffering rot damage. But just as the pipes can draw water away from the fi eld, it can also take water and air to the fi eld when needed. “The piping system’s goal was twofold,” explains Sulin-ski. “First, to effectively drain the fi eld; second, to aid in the growth and integrity of the natural grass turf. A large heater connected to the system allows groundskeepers to circulate warm air up through the root system of the grass. This three-to four-degree boost actually can help green the turf and is a key part of starting the grass growing in the Northeast’s sometimes uncertain early springs.” Drainage is accomplished quickly by creating a vacuum in the pipes; water is then sent to New York’s stormwater system. Just as heat can be sent through the pipes, by con-necting a SubAir unit to the manhole and drainage system, cool air can be circulated on steamy summer days, to give the grass roots some respite. “Groundskeepers like the sys-tem,” says Sulinski. “With the costs of maintaining a live playing fi eld, this technology is catching on, although it’s expensive.” 42 June 2012 www.stormh2o.com