The Problem
The Stone Mountain Golf Club is a 36-hole facility managed by Marriott Golf located 16 miles from Atlanta, Ga. The property endured record drought and heat in 2007 and 2008 then experienced a historic flood in September 2009. The existing irrigation system pump stations were flooded, and the original pump intakes were covered with over 4 feet of silt—causing serious problems with irrigation water quality and pump efficiency.
The Solution
In order to meet the financial and agronomic needs of the property, a hydraulic dredge was used to remove the silt covering the irrigation pump intakes. Geotube® systems were used to dewater the silt before it was used for several back-fill projects throughout the property. Meanwhile, a state-of-the-art pump station project was approved and included:
- The 20-inch main line was bored under the shoreline to protect buffer areas and allow intakes to emerge in deeper, cleaner water. The main line and intake screens are designed to be extendable if another flood causes silt buildup.
- The multimillion dollar expense of removing all of the silt was averted.
- The new pump station was built at an elevation 5 feet above the 1,000-year flood mark.
- The trees that were displaced by the project were replaced in the landscape of the new site.
- The soil and silt that was removed was reused for several projects including establishing an Operation Pollinator research site to provide habitat for bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
