Football field too salty — Soil tests identify elevated nutrient levels

Weston County School District No. 1 is working with soil experts to determine the cause of several large brown areas on Schoonmaker Field, maintenance director Adam Ertman told trustees at the May 27 board meeting.

Ertman said test results he received May 25 from soil samples collected from affected areas showed unusually high phosphorus and soluble salt levels. In some spots, phosphorus levels were nearly 10 times the recommended amount, while relatively “good” spots measured about three times the recommended level, he said. Soluble salt levels were also elevated.

Ertman said Strand’s Lawn Care and WTI General Contractors, which completed dirt work on the football fields in 2024, have assured the district that any corrective work related to the issue would be completed at no cost to the school.

The district collected samples after consulting with turf specialist Caleb Carter, manager of the Weston County Natural Resource District, and sent them to a laboratory in Nebraska for analysis.

Ertman told the News Letter Journal immediately after the meeting that the issue is not a contamination concern or health risk.

“It’s a fertilizer issue,” he said.

Ertman said the district planned to lock the fields from May 28 through June 1 and place mason jars throughout the field to measure how many inches of water the irrigation system applies. The measurements will help experts determine whether irrigation levels could be contributing to the problem. He said experts are scheduled to meet, and he expects to have a better understanding of both the cause of the issue and potential solutions by the next school board meeting, June 10.

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