The multi-million pound Julie Rose Athletics Stadium in Ashford, Kent, was a wonderful addition to the sporting facilities of south-east England but when it opened in 1997 it became immediately apparent that the central athletics field had severe waterlogging problems and was unusable during wet weather.

When Turfdry were asked to design a solution, particular site factors presented an immediate challenge to perfomant drainage: the infield had been constructed totally flat, rather than with the convex gradients required to encourage ground and surface water movement; moreover, the drainage system had to discharge into a pre-built attenuation system - the levels for which had not been set with the necessary advance consideration for drainage of the infield. This presented a problem because plastic pipe drains must be laid with a minimum fall of 1 in 200 to ensure any sediment that enters the drain via the perforations can be ‘flushed’ away by the natural movement of water through the system; these gradients were however impossible to achieive as a result of the height of the already-constructed attenuation system into which the infield drainage had to outfall.

Turfdry’s unique Hydraway Sportsdrain is a highly-engineered alternative to conventional plastic pipes, which – thanks to the laboratory-proven clog-resistance of its geotextile layer – does not allow sediment to enter the drain. This means that the minimum 1 in 200 gradient requirement no longer applies, allowing Hydraway to provide effective drainage of sites when it is installed with little or even no gradient, making it a natural choice for sites with challenging outfall arrangements such as this.

The recommended Turfdry Drainage System was installed with Hydraway Sportsdrain at 2 metre spacing, at zero gradient, running across the width of the sports field connected to non-perforated carrier pipes at minimal gradient. These connected to existing, shallow outfall pipes that ran under the athletics track at each corner of the infield.  The system designed by Turfdry provided an immediately effective solution that has now stood the test of time for over 20 years; in fact, when Turfdry proposed a similar system to drain Hellingly RUFC's 1st XV pitch in 2017, the rugby club contacted Ashford Borough Council to get feedback on the system at Julie Rose Stadium, and they were told that the drainage system continues to perform excellently. This response was a key factor that led the club to choose the Turfdry Drainage System for the Hellingly RUFC pitch, which was drained in September 2017, and back in play in November 2017, with excellent results. Other schemes that have taken advantage of Hydraway’s effectiveness at little or no gradient include the Jim Peters Athletics Stadium in London, and the Enfield Golf Club Flood Remediation Project undertaken in conjunction with the Environment Agency.

Although the infield fell out of use for a time, Sellindge FC have made it the home for their Kent County League side since 2022, and have brought the pitch back into fine form - whilst still relying on the original drainage system installed by Turfdry. This came at a time when the Julie Rose Athletics Stadium was undergoing a £1 million investment in its track, gym, and studio facilities, which were re-opened in early 2023, making the stadium - and the Hydraway drainage system at its centre - a buzzing hub of sporting activity to be proud of.