Six Otterbine sub-surface aerators installed in lakes at the new Rockliffe Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa development, near Darlington, are playing a big part in maintaining the complex’s luxury standards by ensuring the water is kept sparkling clean.

Rockliffe is expected to set a new standard in luxury leisure in the northeast of England when work is completed in 2009. The 150-hectare resort is already home to Middlesborough Football Club’s state-of-the-art training facility and the historic Rockliffe Hall, a run-down 19th Century mansion that is being sensitively converted into a 63-bedroom five-star hotel.

The jewel in the crown for golf enthusiasts, however, is a 116.2-hectare golf course that, at over 7,800 yards from the back tees, will become one of Europe’s longest. Designed by Hawtree’s Marc Westenborg and built by MJ Abbott, the course features three new lakes with a total surface area in excess of 70,000sq m, which have been installed with six Otterbine aerators from distributor Lely UK.

Taking its water supply direct from the adjacent River Tees, the largest lake is used for irrigation storage and has been designed so that the top 30cm of water can be utilised for irrigation purposes. In spite of its 55,000sq m surface area, the lake is a mere 1.7 metres deep due to the high groundwater table.

‘It was clear that such a shallow depth of water would require aeration due to the high nutrient content of the river water used to fill the lake,’ explains MJ Abbott’s contracts director, Nigel Wyatt. ‘The sun’s warmth on the surface of the water would provide the ideal conditions for algae and blanket weed growth. But the client and golf architect did not want to see surface spray aeration, so we installed four Otterbine Sub-Triton Aspirator aerators, which circulate oxygen throughout the lake.’

The two smaller lakes, meanwhile, benefit from Otterbine’s newest innovation – the Air Flo 2 sub-surface aerator. Energy efficient and quiet, this fine-bubble diffused aeration system features Gast piston compressors, which allow it to operate at depths of up to 12m. This made the system ideal for the two lakes, which are four metres deep.

‘A further benefit of Air Flo 2 is that the hardware is completely hidden at the base of the lakes, so no floats are necessary,’ says Nigel. ‘This was important to us as the lakes are next to the greens. The compressor units are also unobtrusive and have been placed within the nearby landscape areas.’

The six aerators have been in place since May of this year. ‘They’re maintaining an excellent level of water quality,’ Nigel adds.

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