Floods are disastrous for any landowner, but it’s especially devastating for amateur sports clubs that use grass pitches.
Flooding prevents fixtures from going ahead, severely damages turf and can even destroy surrounding facilities such as changing rooms and clubhouses.
If your sports facility is suffering from the effects of heavy rain, then keep reading for solutions that can prevent pitches from flooding.
What causes flooding in sports facilities?
Waterlogging occurs when pitches and grass surfaces become saturated and can no longer absorb water, resulting in excess water pooling on top of the surface.
It can technically happen on any pitch depending on the level of water, but it’s a particular problem when there’s no drainage system in place to divert excess water.
Sports grounds surrounded by concrete walkways and tarmac car parks can also be more susceptible to flooding as water can’t penetrate these surfaces and can lead to even more water running down onto the grass.
Large volumes of water collect above or bounce off the surface and collect in susceptible flooding areas where the ground dips.
How can heavy rain damage sports grounds?
Flooding harms sports facilities in multiple ways, affecting different areas of the club:
Continuous rain can damage pitches
Not all clubs have the luxury of being able to invest in all-weather pitches.
These facilities are expensive to install and require a lot of room to construct.
Grass pitches are still widely used across the UK for this very reason, but they’re always susceptible to flooding without effective drainage.
Without a drainage system, water drowns the roots below the surface, killing the grass and making the pitch patchy once dried.
Replacing the destroyed turf is costly and requires time to lay and set, holding clubs back even longer.
Heavy flooding affects the social lives of team members
Playing sport, whether competitively or for leisure, can be a big part of someone’s social life.
Team members often enjoy an after-match pint in the club bar. But sadly, with frequent fixture cancellations due to waterlogged pitches, this can’t happen.
Members even become frustrated and join clubs that aren’t troubled by constant heavy rain damage to make the most of their monthly subs.
Floods can cause sports grounds to take a financial hit
Heavy rain can economically hurt sports clubs too.
Firstly, as well as leaving pitches unplayable, long-term flood damage to property and pitches is expensive to fix. For example, rainwater that seeps into changing rooms may cause structural issues, mould, and rot.
Rebuilding isn’t cheap, especially for a club that’s lost money due to fixture postponement.
Also, consider being hit with potential insurance claims from people who may suffer from the effects of flooding. Issues like rot and mould cause severe health issues if exposed to them for a long time.
Secondly, sports grounds can lose significant amounts of revenue due to refunds on tickets and lack of confectionary sales. Facilities with bars or cafes suffer when games don’t go ahead.
So, the important question is how can these problems be solved and prevented in the future?
Install adequate land drainage to prevent flooding
There are a few ways to protect sports grounds from floods and poor drainage. One of the most popular and effective methods is installing land drainage pipes.
Land Drainage Pipes
Installing land drainage pipes is a trusted and inexpensive method of draining water from sports pitches.
These pipes are installed below the surface of the pitch and collect wastewater.
Perforated drainage coils are the most common drainage pipe used in sports facility drainage. These pipes have small holes in their frame to collect the rainwater, which channels into a drainage system or more porous ground.
The benefits of land drainage pipes
Land drainage pipes are resistant to corrosion and durable as it’s made from plastic. This saves turf from being dug up frequently for maintenance.
Land drainage coils are highly flexible and lightweight, meaning installation is easy and seamless.
Trench drains
Also known as a channel drain, a trench drain is a gutter tray installed in the ground joined to an underground drainage system.
In sports facilities, it’s best positioned towards the edge of a car park or walkway below a dip to channel water runoff.
Connected underground drainage systems collect the water the drain has diverted and disperse it away.
A trench drain is effective for various reasons. It’s very affordable, especially plastic trenches, which are also hard wearing and non-corrosive.
Trench drains are also very easy to install and don’t take too long to fit.
Save your pitches, install land drainage
Save your groundsmen and women the stress of replacing turf by fitting efficient drainage – there’s nothing to lose.
Actively future proofing your club by installing land drainage will ensure your members are kept happy and that revenue keeps flowing.
Contact Cotterill Civils, the specialists in underground drainage.
Their team of knowledgeable professionals are on hand to help you with your land drainage queries.
