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Index : Watering
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- 14. Check Your Irrigation System Now - Top
- The worst time to discover your irrigation system isn't working is in the coming months of May and June. The heat and sun conspire to cook plants that need regular irrigation, but aren't getting it due to a failed watering system. So now is the time to inspect and make any necessary irrigation repairs.
With drip irrigation, leaks are common and often hard to find. If your water bill has spiked for no apparent reason, it's likely an underground irrigation leak has occurred. Poly tubing used in drip systems deteriorates over time. In general, this tubing will only last for 10 years before springing leaks.
If large patches in open areas of gravel and soil appear moist, it's likely a leak has sprung in the main-line tubing. By turning your irrigation system on, you may even find water welling up out of the ground. Follow the water to the leak. Otherwise, dig into the moist area to find the main line. Uncover the tubing where the soil is moist and then turn the irrigation on. Water will come spraying out from any perforated section.
Cut out the perforated section of the tube and replace it using a compression coupler for half-inch tubing. If your tubing has a blue line running down it's length, the coupler also should have a blue ring on one end of the coupler. Blue line tubing and the corresponding fittings are for half-inch, .710 tubing. For a single perforation, the coupler alone can be used to bridge the excised section. If there are multiple leaks it may be necessary to replace a large section of the main half-inch tubing, using connectors at either end to couple the new section of tubing.
Leaks may also occur in the system where drip emitters and quarter-inch tubing attaches to the main line. These leaks are smaller and may not cause a sudden increase in your water bill. By inspecting the above-ground output of your emitters you should be able to notice any obvious difference in output. If water dripping from one or more of the tubes or emitters (of the same type) is noticeably less than that coming from the bulk of emitters, a leak may have developed where the tubing attaches to the main line.
Follow the drip tubing down to the main line, and with the system turned on, look for a fine spray of water around the connection. If you find a leak, remove the drip tubing (or emitter) and try plugging the hole with a goof plug. If this does not stop the leak, it will be necessary to cut the leaking section out of the main line and replace it. Emitters should be replaced with the same gallon output; one-half, one or two gallon emitters, as was used previously.
While your making repairs to the main line, consider adding some additional drip emitters. As long as you've gone to the trouble of digging the hole, put in a few new half-inch tubes on the main line. Even if you don't need them now, you can plug the ends above ground with goof plugs. Then, when you need them, you won't have to do any digging. Just take the goof plug out, insert a barb connector, and add tubing to extend where needed.
As trees grow, it's important to add drip emitters. One or two near the trunk may have been adequate when the tree was first planted, but not years later. Locate several drip emitters equally spaced around the tree near the edge of the branches. Larger trees may require as many as 10 to 12 emitters. True desert species such as Mesquite and Palo Verde can get by without any supplemental watering, but not imported trees like; Live Oak, Elm, Pine, and California Pepper.
Finally, after making the necessary repairs to your irrigation lines, make sure the controller is working properly. Set the controller to turn the system on at a time when your home to check it's operation. If water is not coming on when programmed, the most likely cause is a bad solenoid on one or more valves, preventing them from opening. Replacement solenoids can be purchased from irrigation suppliers, hardware and home supply stores. They're easy to install. Just ask for instructions at the time of purchase.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona,
520-626-5161. - Updated: April 25, 2004
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