The New Orleans Zephyrs have had drainage problems with our field since its original installation in 1997. Originally there was a traditional round pipe installation with 4” collector lines and 6” and 8” mains to carry the water off. Our staff had to physically move water around in the grass areas to try and play games after our traditional afternoon thunderstorms. This was due to a number of factors, the greatest being the condition of the pipes below the field. Countless numbers of pipes were crushed from traffic during field construction and improper usage. This created an irregular pattern of drainage across the field as well as a field that stayed at its field capacity for long periods of time.
When it was decided to rebuild our field, Hydraway drainage system was a great alternative that was brought to our attention. It was convenient for retrofitting the field along with its high inflow rate and its compressive strength during construction. The inflow rate was critical in our situation because of weather. Our typical weather pattern of afternoon thunderstorms can be at times violent with up to 3.5” of rain in an hour period. Yet the sun will come out in the late afternoon, the Zephyrs are expected to play. The 12” Hydraway lines on 15’ centers are able to dewater the surface fast enough for our team to play.
Just such a situation occurred on August 21, 2009. At 3:00pm an afternoon thunderstorm arose over the ballpark. By 3:30pm the only things visible on the field were the infield tarp and the bullpen tarps. By 3:45pm the stadium had received 3.17” of rain. With help of our front office staff to dump the tarp, the Zephyrs were playing by 7:30pm with compliments from the Pacific Coast League and its umpires.
