Diagnose a sports ground irrigation fault and set a schedule

You are an Irrigation Technician in the Irrigation, Chemicals and Plant team.

Simulated workplaceAdvanced missionCAQA Greenfield Agri and Landcare

What is going on

The council has reported dry patches on oval 2 at Kurrawong Sports Reserve and zone 3 of the pressurised system is reading low pressure. The system has a pump station, disc filters, a controller, solenoid valves and pop-up sprinklers on laterals. Work order WO-26-0416 is open. Spring sport starts in a fortnight and the council's water allocation for the reserve is limited. The supervisor wants a fault diagnosis from the pump through to the sprinklers, a repair or a repair specification, soil moisture readings and a two-week irrigation schedule that keeps the ovals playable within the allocation.

Sione Taufa, Irrigation and Plant Supervisor
Subject: Sports reserve zone 3 low pressure, need a diagnosis and a schedule

The council has complained about dry patches on oval 2 at Kurrawong Sports Reserve and zone 3 is reading low pressure. Work order WO-26-0416 is open. Please troubleshoot the system from the pump through the filters, valves and laterals, find the fault, fix it if it is within your competence or specify the repair, and then check the soil moisture readings and set an irrigation schedule for the next fortnight that keeps the ovals playable without exceeding the council's water allocation. Record everything in the work order.

Your brief

Systematically troubleshoot the irrigation system, identify and address the cause of the low pressure and dry patches, monitor soil moisture and produce a defensible irrigation schedule and report for the council within the water allocation.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

Read the Environment and Sustainability Policy section on soil and water and the Plant and Equipment Register entry for the reserve's irrigation system, and review work order WO-26-0416.
Check the pump station: suction, discharge pressure, pressure switch and any air or cavitation signs, and record the readings.
Inspect and clean the disc filters, check the controller program and each solenoid valve for zone 3, and record what you find at each point.
Walk zone 3 laterals and sprinklers looking for leaks, blocked or sunken heads, damaged nozzles and poor overlap, and measure distribution uniformity with catch cans on oval 2.
Identify the fault or faults, carry out the repair within your competence or write a repair specification with parts, and record the work in the work order.
Take soil moisture readings at set points on both ovals, interpret them against the root zone and soil type, and calculate the crop water requirement for the fortnight.
Prepare a two-week irrigation schedule with run times per zone that meets the requirement within the allocation, and write a one-page report for the council explaining the fault, the fix and the schedule.

My notes: what did I enjoy, and what surprised me?

What someone in this role would produce

Troubleshooting log with readings at each point
Distribution uniformity results
Repair record or specification
Two-week irrigation schedule
Council report

Printing this is a record of what you explored. It is not a certificate or a qualification.