Sprinkler systems are a great way to keep your yard and landscaped areas lush and vibrant throughout the spring and summer seasons. Yet as with any outdoor system, sprinklers will need some routine maintenance and repair to keep them functioning optimally.
One repair concern you may find yourself needing to address is low pressure on your sprinkler system. The good news is, low pressure in a sprinkler system can be the result of some simple issues that aren’t too difficult to fix. If you have low pressure in your sprinkler system check out these two simple fixes.
Check Your Backflow Preventer Valves
Backflow preventers are a safety feature on irrigation systems that prevents contaminants from entering into the water supply. A backflow preventer is designed with two pipes connected perpendicularly and valves that will open and close each of the pipes. Since backflow preventers use pressure to keep out contaminants, if one of these valves is not fully open or is clogged the pressure in your system may be reduced.
Check Your System for Grass, Dirt, or Debris
Sometimes the problem with the pressure in your system is as simple as overgrown grass or weeds, or dirt and debris making its way into the irrigation lines. Weeds and grass can overgrow around the sprinkler heads causing the blades and roots to get into the sprinkler head resulting in clogs in the system. It is also possible to get dirt and debris into the line underground. As lines get older or sometimes damaged by tree roots there are be small cracks or holes in the line that can fill up with dirt causing the flow and pressure to lessen. To rectify this problem, you can flush out the lines, but if there are major cracks in the lines where the debris is coming in, they should be repaired or replaced.
Don’t get discouraged by low-pressure problems, contact the experienced irrigation professionals at W.P. Law Incorporated to determine your sprinkler system pressure problems and get your system back up and running as efficiently as possible.