Sprinkler Woes

Today R and I noticed a problem with the sprinklers. We left for church this morning and I saw a strange sight. The sprinklers were running in the front yard. This was an odd sight, since we have the system programmed to water the front part of the lawn in the wee hours of the morning. By going off in the pre-dawn period, we do not have to water as heavily as if we watered during the late morning (evaporation is a BIG problem here our arid climate); and the water pressure is actually heavier during the early morning hours as opposed to the late morning hours.

By the time we returned, we noticed they were still on and most of the water had runoff to the sidewalk. YIPES! I started playing with the system and was completely flummoxed. I started out checking basic things: battery, fuse, and power source. All of which were snake eyes. I then tried playing with the program. I switched from one zone to another zone, but the water in the front would not desist.

Finally, my lovely wife called our lawn care service representative--who incidentally was also heading out for church--and he suggested shutting off the water main to the irrigation system until someone could show up to troubleshoot the problem.

Later that morning, I returned after washing the car and saw a car pull up to our place. Sure enough, the visitor was one of the guys from the company we have caring for our lawn. I described the situation to him and he diagnosed it right away: clogged filters. We went to the side of our house, and he lifted up two plastic covers from the side of the house, scooped out some thick, dusty residue off a water main filter. We then flicked the water back on and VOILA, it worked.

I thanked him for coming out on a Sunday and helping us. He probably thought we were king sized dweebs!