# Suspected Leak but from where????



## mre_man_76 (Aug 4, 2018)

Hi all, hoping to get your thoughts on what I suspect is a leak from somewhere in the ground.

Had my 6 zone Hunter PRO HC installed 2 seasons ago. Failed to winterize it that fall and paid the price for it the following season because the backflow preventer's main valve cracked and I decided not to get it fixed last season due to it being out of the budget. I knew this was the issue because a a loud spraying sound was coming from inside the backflow preventer box right after a freeze late last winter and water was flowing all in my backyard so I cut of the water feeding the irrigation from my dedicated irrigation water meter.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago and finally got the backflow preventer replaced. Was very angry with myself after I saw the repair. Didn't realize that the unit as a whole comes fully assembled and it was a breeze to replace and couldn't help thinking I could have easily done this myself. Turned on the water for the first time in over a year and I have not used the irrigation system other than to test it out after the repairs due to the high amount of rainfall we've been getting the past month.

I received the first water bill since the repairs and it was excessively high. I also noticed high amounts of sitting water near one of the heads after a rain but chalked it up to the lawn not being able to drain quick enough because this area typically takes longer to drain after it rains because my front lawn has a graded towards that head and always take longer to dry out than the rest of the lawn. Now I'm noticing that it's taking even longer than usual to dry out as well as seeing a very small pool of water running over 1 sidewalk square and into the hell strip which has no irrigation.

I don't know if there is a leak because the pressure from all the zones seems to be the same as it was prior to the pipes busting. If there is a leak I hope it's coming from the head and not the pvc or the tubing feeding the sprinkler head as that requires digging to repair and will cause an eye sore because my turf looks the best it has since I bought the place 4 years ago.

How do I go about diagnosing the issue and what could be the possible causes and corrections.

TIA!!!


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## wafflesngravy (Apr 8, 2019)

In my yard leaks are easy to find. The area will become a sloshy swamp. If I put the shovel there I usually find the problem. It sucks to dig, but some times you gotta do it. If you put the grass back on top of the hole it usually recovers and blends in quickly.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

There is a very easy way to tell if you are having a leak. Go to your irrigation meter. IF your irrigation is off, but the meter moves (give it 10min or so to check for differences in numbers), then you have a leak. Then the problem it finding it. Start manually shutting stuff off to see if you detect the leak.


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## mre_man_76 (Aug 4, 2018)

Thanks, will give this a go.


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## robertmehrer (Feb 28, 2019)

Most city Meters have a leak detector dial on them. If you look at the numbers and the dial there is usually a red or orange triangle off to the side. Its far more sensitive to water flow. If that triangle is moving you have a leak beyond the meter in your home inlet or irrigation. Keep in mind you may have a leak inside the house as well. You main water feed splits in two, one to the irrigation BFP, and another line into the house.

I had water hammer blow the PVC off of the Irrigation valves after the city did some maintenance on the system. New construction across the street has them shutting down the lift station and slamming it back on when done. So until construction is completed i usually check my meter weekly. Since my irrigation lines are in rock, gravel, loose compact soil, and irrigation boxes, it gets most of the hammer at the joints.

My leak was in my irrigation box and the from yard was soaked. The water ran down through the rocks/gravel and into the french drain and overwhelmed it. Trust me leaks arent easy to find but youll need to start poking around.


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