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Common Irrigation Problems

By Steve Snedeker

More articles on our site: Brick Pavers - Planting Techniques - Structural Aspects of Pavers - Common Irrigation Problems - What To Expect From A Contractor- Water Features

Irrigating lawns and gardens used to be an innovative, mostly Southwestern trick of keeping a green lawn. California and the Southwest led the movement. They've also led many of the creative solutions to materials and coverage. This was back at a time when other places simply endured their standard periods of drought by hooking up massive and complicated lengths of hoses and sprinklers, moving them around and usually over watering like crazy.

With the advent of more affordable plastics, improved irrigation technology has become more widespread elsewhere. It is now an important component of a perfect summer lawn. With these technologies, you no longer have to be a slave to your lawn and garden. You can go on vacation and return to a still-gorgeous lawn, fully knowing a timed irrigating and ample water coverage over their entire lawn will maintain the necessary watering in your absence.

I have identified the 4 primary considerations in a healthy irrigation system which, if maintained in a regime I suggest below, will further foolproof your lawn watering system and make it more reliable. These are elements of normal maintenance of an irrigation system and represent those items most often causing potential problems. Careful concern paid to these will insure a long-lived system, accurately producing water in the most efficient and economic ways.

The Timer

Irrigation controllers (clocks) have adjustable areas it is vital to become familiar with. Time settings deal with the start time (or times) of a system, the duration of application in minutes, and the periodicity in terms of which days to run the system. They may also have a percentage index where you can universally dial down durations appropriately for cloudier days or days with rain, overriding the dials.

As seasons change, so does the demand on a lawn. Familiarity with the controller can save huge money on water costs and make irrigation much more effective. Over- or under-watered lawns look bad, are unhealthy and waste your efforts, if not water. Typically, summers, with the heat, increase the demand for water. But you can also save here by avoiding the evaporation from spraying caused by a blazing sun by starting the regime earlier in the morning, or later at night. Simply adjusting the time of release will save 10-15% of water usage. Likewise, dialing down quantities in early spring or late summer can also save as temperatures decrease.

The Nozzles and Heads

Typically, sprinkler heads are aligned at the edges of grass lawns, sprayed into them from spots on the perimeter. Naturally, there are heads in the middle of large lawns, but they don't face the problems of those on the edge and this is why: Plants and flowers and, yes, weeds can grow to such an extent they actually block or deflect the flow toward the intended expanses. An overhanging branch can block a stream of water and render the intended lawn brown where the water gets even slightly deflected from. Likewise, flowers and weeds clustered in the vicinity, if overlooked, can quickly render a sprinkler head useless. Typical maintenance here requires a homeowner or maintenance staff to clear all obstructions, paying strict attention to trends and possible eventual growth.

Pressure Concerns

New neighborhoods can pose new demands on the city or county's water system as a general supplier. What often occurs is a falling of water pressure -sometime even water volume - in these neighborhoods resulting in a serious alteration of the ability for the supply to meet the demand. Older neighborhoods may become affected as new ones are added to the city or county. Many times people ponder at an otherwise puzzling inability of their systems to function perfectly, remembering when it did the years prior, and thus making them do things like redo their entire systems.

While this is necessary in many cases, often enough calls to the water authority can induce them to dial up the pressure supplied to a neighborhood. In addition, there are more efficient nozzles less dependent on high pressure release, which could remedy the situation. Many homes have pressure reducers built into the water system of their homes. These are always adjustable and can be dialed up for more pressure with a simple wrench.

Broken Parts

Here we find the most common of all causes of irrigation problems. Often a cracked sprinkler head can appear to be functioning, yet you notice the browning occurring where once it had performed perfectly. What happens is there can be some leakage out of the head just before the nozzles, and a consequent lessening of pressure and flow. Unfortunately, this can be small enough to not be visible to the naked eye, at least without digging and finding the condition of the entire head. Other factors of breakage can be the nozzles themselves which are prone to breakage when the tires of machines course over them.

There is also the more serious problem of pipes being broken below the ground. While rare, this is a serious situation inasmuch as these pipes supply water for the entire system. Not only that, but it is even more serious when one considers the sheer amount of water that could be lost. Oftentimes, no one knows for a while, particularly if the soil drains well. Even worse, it can render the entire system useless and cost far more than one wants to consider paying.

These are all easy maintenance chores to attend to. The small learning curve of familiarizing yourself with these very vital issues can result in a literally perfect system.