At our informational meeting September 27, we discussed the need to dry out the areas adjacent to our street and that, as a result, some of us might be having to water “by hand.” At the time we thought we could simply not water for a few days and then start watering again at a reduced level. What we learned is that our entire sprinkler system has a serious flaw. When the water is shut off, every bit of water remaining in the system drains to the lowest sprinkler heads which are the sprinklers right at the curbs. The water collects and stands there. The capillary paths to conduct the water beneath the curbs and gutters and into our streets’ substrate are all saturated and just waiting for more water. We also discovered that some of the valves do not shut off all the way so that, even though they were off, they continued to leak to the lowest sprinkler heads. Some of you no doubt saw the concrete contractors yesterday bailing out some 50 gallons of water just to be able to work on one area of concrete repair. This was after the water had been “shut off” for 5 days. Yesterday, our gardener, Alex, replaced three in-line valves that were leaking and today he will be installing numerous check valves in the lower sprinkler heads so that we can again water but that the water does not again soak our streets’ substrate. Our hope is that by late this afternoon some of those areas where the water has been off the longest will again be receiving regular irrigation. All of this will have to be monitored, of course, in order to insure that we have, indeed, solved the water drainage problem. This is the first step in correcting irrigation issues. The next step will require member involvement and will be on the agenda for our regular member business meeting tentatively scheduled for October 25. Official notification of the meeting together with the agenda will be distributed on or before October 15.
Cliff
