BELCHERTOWN — The wet weather of the last couple weeks was the Hail Mary Belchertown High School sports needed to save the field for the upcoming sports season.
A month after announcing that the field would close for at least the fall season due to water restrictions, Superintendent Brian Cameron told the School Committee earlier this month that the turf has recovered enough for use this fall.
Building and Grounds Director Eric Lebeau recently brought in top soil and aerated the field to get it ready for use.
“I can’t believe the difference from when I saw it on June 23 to now,” Cameron said at the committee’s Aug. 5 meeting.
Previously, the ongoing drought in Massachusetts hit Belchertown’s water resources. The Water District limited nonessential watering with a townwide water ban in September 2025, preventing regular watering of the high school’s field to fix the sod.
“Since I took this job, all I’ve heard about is how bad this field is and we need to do work to it,” Athletic Director Kevin McNeill told the committee.
The school district is investing in a new irrigation system for the high school athletic fields to prevent further watering challenges. Two wells were dug, but Lebeau realized that there wouldn’t be enough water available to water the sod. The irrigation system needs roughly 120 gallons per minute, and the wells pump the 15 gallons per minute.
To meet water demands, Lebeau plans to add two water storage tanks to the system, each capable of holding 35,000 to 40,000 gallons of water. However, the tanks are still in the design phase, further behind schedule than Lebeau predicted.
“It was supposed to go out to bid last month but the design has become much more complicated,” Lebeau said. “We’re not just looking to irrigate the stadium field, we’re looking to have a long-term solution to irrigate all the fields.
Without water, patches of the field had turned brown and dusty. Lebeau said in an email to the Gazette that he had planted seeds into the turf, but the lack of water threatened the success of the new sod. Administrators became concerned about possible injury while playing on the field, and discussed shutting the field down.
Then, the area received a few big rainstorms. Lebeau began hand watering the field with water from the newly-drilled well, and the rain ensured the field came back into shape.
“Currently, it’s as good as it’s been in the last three to four years,” Lebeau said.
Lebeau will continue to work on the field throughout the fall, but he needs at least three months to effectively rehabilitate the sod. Cameron is not sure whether the field will be open in for spring sports.
“We may have to make a decision about shutting it down, and it will affect someone,” Cameron said. “You can’t fix the field and give it rest and play on it year round.”
In his email, Lebeau said he will continue to mow, fertilize and seed the soil in hopes of creating a thick layer of turf. However, increased traffic from fall sports could stifle further progress.
“There remains a possibility that the field may need to be closed for a period in the spring to allow us to perform additional renovation work and give the turf an opportunity to recover without regular athletic traffic,” Lebeau said.
