Staff member: Keep pump submerged, reservoir partly drained to avoid cavitation

A staff member at the meeting said the irrigation pump must remain submerged and the holding reservoir should be kept only partly full so the system can drain without overflowing and to avoid pump damage.

The single staff member explained why that operating range matters: "Wanna keep the water somewhere just below these little these little notches here. Somewhere half halfway, somewhere in there. So the pump has to stay submerged or it'll it'll cavitate. It'll ruin the pump. It has to stay submerged," the staff member said.

The staff member said the reservoir should not be filled to capacity because, in the event of a power outage or shutdown, water will move from tub to tub and the system needs spare capacity to receive it. "But you don't want to fill the reservoir the entire way because if for some reason the power went out or you'd have to turn the system off, there's a little bit of water that'll drain each tub? From from each tub. It'll drain from here down to this 1 down into here. And there's plenty of capacity in here. But if it's already full, then there's no place for the water to go," the staff member said.

On water chemistry and inputs, the staff member said higher total water volume in the system increases the effort needed to maintain pH and fertilizer balance. "And the more the more water that you have in the system, the more that you have to try and keep the pH down," the staff member said. "You have to adjust the fertilizer."

The transcript contains these explanatory remarks only; it does not record any motion, vote, or formal direction tied to this item.