Coleman addresses irrigation issues on the golf course

WALLA WALLA — Walla Walla Parks and Recreation Director Andy Coleman presented a report to the City Council Wednesday evening about irrigation problems, particularly water loss, at the Veterans Memorial Golf Course.

In the fall of 2023, the golf course operator, W3 Entertainment, stated that there were problems with the irrigation system.

Last spring, Coleman said that during a tour of the track involving city grounds staff and W3's grounds manager, the problems found did not appear to be outside of the typical problems expected for a system of this size.

In April, problems persisted and it was agreed that W3 would create a map and identify leaks so city staff could repair them. City staff repaired six or seven leaks and W3 staff said they would take care of repairing the remaining breaches. However, irrigation problems continued to be reported after another map and list was created, resulting in city staff repairing 45 leaks in about nine hours.

Coleman reported that on September 16, it was discovered that due to a problem with the diaphragm and pressure reducing valve, there was too much pressure coming from the pumps, causing tees and 90-degree fittings in the irrigation system to break. The pressure issue has now been resolved, although W3 reports that leaks continue to be discovered because the irrigation system has been compromised for an extended period.

On October 26, city workers repaired leaks at excavated sites.

The next step is to send a team in the spring of 2025 to identify and carry out hole-by-hole repairs and hire an independent consultant to evaluate the golf course's irrigation system.

Photo via Veterans Memorial Golf Course