Image Up Advertising & Design

6 | OHCC LIVING | OCTOBER 2021 | Golf Course Renovation Report The Board approved the final design of our lake on the golf course at the Aug. 16 special open meeting. A drawing of the design is included below in this article. The size is just under an acre, which makes the permitting simpler, and will hold approximately 2,500,000 gallons which was our original intent. I hope all will agree it is a most attractive design. You can see it is a single level lake, located between the 14th and 17th fairways very near the well head. We will be able to see the lake from at least six holes on the course. We originally discussed a "wedding cake" design with two waterfalls included. The topography was measured with a drone over flight which revealed too much of a drop from the 14th fairway to the 17th fairway which would have required much more excavation and hauling in more fill dirt. The performance specifications we had on this project called for a balanced cut and fill approach, which would eliminate bringing in more dirt or hauling any out. This design is much more cost effective. We will be pumping out about 190,000 gallons each day from the lake, and refilling that same 190,000 gallons from the well, all simultaneously. That will be a lot of moving water that will provide the aeration we need to prevent algae build up in the lake. We had discussed some fountains in the lake for aeration which would have provided an aesthetic element as well as an acoustical effect. That would require at least a 10 horse-power pump running at the peak cost hours for our electrical costs. It looks like that will not be necessary. In May we conducted another well test to determine both the quality and recovery rate or volume of the well. The test conducted by Well Tec, a well- known testing company, revealed the quality was only slightly better than our original test from the well drilling, however, the recovery rate was far better than expected. We can pump much faster than we originally assumed from our first tests, which did not include the recovery test. As a result, we were able to approve the upsized pumps to pump faster both from the well and from the lake at our August meeting. That means we can pump into and out of the lake during SDGE's "Super Off Peak" hours at the cheapest rate for our electricity. That is between midnight and 6 am. That will give us a better ROI on our electrical costs, and it will allow us to recoup the $130,000 upcharge for the larger pumps. Remember, we also want to add all the non- golf areas on the fingers surrounding the golf course, so we need to be able to pump a lot of water for all that irrigation, during the limited irrigating window, from midnight to 6 am. You have heard me say many times that we are so very lucky to have the volume we have in our well. We determined where to drill by using the latest science by hiring Ferdinand Metz, the Water Prospector, who scanned our golf course with VLR (very low frequency radar) to pinpoint where to drill and he hit it perfectly. However, no one we interviewed could estimate the potential volume. VDLA told me all the people involved said they have never seen a well with this much volume. The location was determined by science, but the volume was determined by "Divine Providence." I am just reminding everyone how fortunate we are for the volume. Would you believe that Ferdinand Metz only cost about $1,200? He was by far the best investment we ever made. By Don Lopez, Golf Course Irrigation Committee Chairman

• Cover