The unique benefits of the Turfdry Drainage System using Hydraway Sportsdrain continues to catch industry attention, with the firm having recently completed a successful installation at Hanwell Town FC’s Perivale Stadium ground, as part of a broader suite of pitch improvements funded by a grant from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF). 

The club has invested significantly in recent years, and with its profile - and league position - on the rise, they were frustrated to suffer persistent and significant waterlogging issues throughout the winter months, which was consistently undermining the hard work put in to keep the standard of the playing surface as high as possible. With the problems only getting worse over time however, they were seriously threatening the integrity of the club’s season through cancelled fixtures. 

Having identified pitch drainage improvements as its number one priority moving forward, the club was able to secure funding as part of a Football Foundation grant, which also included the budget for additional improvements to the pitch, including sand amelioration, and the installation of a new irrigation system. 

Although the club had initially envisioned a conventional two-tier drainage system using 80mm perforated plastic pipe collector drains at 5m spacings and sand bands, they were drawn to some of the unique benefits of the Turfdry Drainage System using Hydraway Sportsdrain. Whilst the increased speed of its drainage performance when compared to plastic pipe was noted, a particular feature of Hydraway that appealed to the club was its delivery of high drainage performance despite the trenches into which it is installed only being 55-60mm wide; with an imperative that the pitch be in top condition in time for the start of the 2018-2019 season, the reduced disruption to the playing surface incurred through the installation of the Turfdry Drainage System when compared to the significantly wider trenches required for the installation of a plastic pipe system was highly appealing. 

Additionally, when considering the more long-term impacts of the installation on the pitch, the club was excited at the prospect of the diminished impact of sinkage brought about by the natural shrinkage of the clay soil in the summer months, thanks to the unique balance of drainage efficiency and low-profile installation offered by the narrow trenches of the Turfdry Drainage System. 

Moreover, a further appeal of the Turfdry Drainage System was its proven effectiveness as a single-tier drainage system, with the rapid infiltration rate of the drain allowing it to quickly intake high volumes of water, circumventing the usual requirement for a secondary drainage layer to collect groundwater. For Hanwell Town FC, this meant that the club could afford to have more closely spaced lateral drains (3m) than had they opted for a traditional two-tier system with sand banding; furthermore, the effectiveness of the drainage system is no longer dependent on regular remediation of the sand-banding secondary layer, granting greater freedom and flexibility for the club’s budget moving forward. 

The Turfdry team also worked in tandem with Benningtons, who installed a new irrigation system on the pitch; to help keep the project’s overall budget as lean as possible, the trenches cut to house the carrier drain and the outer laterals were made larger than normal so that the irrigation main could also be installed in these same trenches. 

Following fraze mowing, cultivation, and seeding works, the new sward established rapidly, soon carpeting the pitch with a rich and healthy covering of grass. From there, it was back to Hanwell’s Head Groundsman Tom Duffy manage the pitch through to the start of the season, which has already drawn praise - the Premier League featured the pitch in a recent video found below, whilst Tom is enjoying having opposition strikers comment on the quality of the pitch in his capacity shadowing them as the club’s centre-back! 

Turfdry is delighted to see grassroots football clubs being supported by the professional game through grants for projects like this, and tremendously proud to have contributed to facilities that will continue to benefit the club, its players, and its fans for many years to come - a sentiment shared by Chairman of the FSIF, Peter McCormick OBE:

“Not all FSIF projects are immediately obvious. Some, like Hanwell Town FC’s, are beneath the surface - but are still having a drastic effect on improving the quality of infrastructure throughout lower levels of the game. It is fantastic that a grant from the Premier League, delivered by the FSIF, has enabled the club to carry out their pitch drainage and irrigation works. This is set to really benefit players, by giving them a reliable and high-quality surface to train, develop and compete on. I’d like to congratulate the club on their hard work in bringing this project to fruition, and wish them the best of luck.”