IRVINE : School Field Will Dig New Sprinklers

Call it the end of an era for sweaty students: Lawn sprinklers--those water-spouting wonders that make a summer romp through the grass so satisfying--appear to be going the way of the one-room schoolhouse.

At least at South Lake Middle School.

When the new campus opens in the fall, aboveground sprinklers will be absent from the athletic field. Instead, the area will be watered by a series of sprinklers buried seven inches below the surface.

As a result, the green surface of the field will remain dry--even when the sprinklers are running.

“You can water it whenever you want,” said Tom Ash, a horticulturist with the Irvine Ranch Water District and the University of California Cooperative Extension. “The kids can play whenever they want.”

The underground irrigation system is being installed as part of a joint venture between the water district and the Irvine Unified School District. It is one of the first such systems in Southern California.

The underground irrigation is expected to use up to 50% less water than aboveground sprinklers because there is no evaporation or runoff, Ash said.

The sprinklers direct water at the roots, where it is needed most. Ash said the grass blades will maintain a green, healthy look without being directly watered. Irvine’s hard clay soil is ideal for underground irrigation because water is not immediately absorbed into the dirt, Ash said.

The system will use reclaimed water, which is cheaper than regular water. State health rules allow the use of reclaimed water for irrigation only at night. But the school district will be able to use the underground sprinkler system during the day because the water never touches the surface where children are playing.

“This takes us into the future in terms of efficiency,” Ash said.