Irrigation Leak Detection in Glendale, Arizona

An irrigation leak in Glendale tends to hide. The water does not always come up over the break, and the first sign can be a bill rather than a puddle.

Why the wet spot is often somewhere else

University of Arizona Cooperative Extension describes caliche layers in Arizona soils that stop water from soaking down. When buried irrigation pipe cracks above a hard layer, the water can travel sideways along it and surface several feet away, at the lowest head, in a valve box or at the curb. A soggy patch tells you there is a leak nearby. It does not mark the spot to dig. Following the slope and running one zone at a time narrows it down. In summer a slow leak can also hide under the growth it feeds: a strip of turf greener than the rest, or one desert shrub thriving while its neighbours struggle, often sits over a weeping line.

Start with the meter

The water meter is the cheapest leak detector there is.

1. Turn off every fixture in the house and set the controller to off.
2. Look at the meter's leak indicator or dial and note the reading.
3. Wait, then check again. Movement means water is going somewhere.
4. If the property has a separate shutoff for the irrigation supply, close it and check again. If the movement stops, the leak is in the yard.

Keep the readings and the times. After the repair, the same test should show a still meter, which is the simplest proof the leak is gone.

Water that shows up only while one station runs points to that zone's lateral pipe or heads. Water that shows up with everything off points to the mainline, the backflow assembly or a valve that will not close. EPA WaterSense notes that pooling between cycles can be a sign of an underground leak.

Glendale details that change the job

• Whose water. County islands sit between 75th Avenue and El Mirage Road, so check that the bill is from the City of Glendale before relying on any city program.
• Flood-irrigated lots. Downtown lots on the city's urban irrigation system get raw water through a separate ditch line and valve every two weeks in season. Standing water on a delivery day is the flood system doing its job, not a sprinkler leak.
• Runoff. A leak that reaches the street can become a water waste report under the city's drought plan.
• The backflow assembly. If the leak is at the assembly and it must be replaced, the city requires a permit and an inspection.

Prevention the city will help pay for

Flow sensors with leak detection are on the City of Glendale rebate list for single-family city water customers. A flow sensor watches for water moving when it should not and can shut the system down. As with every item on that list, the system must already be in good working order, so the leak gets fixed first.

The leak detection service page covers the general method, and how to spot an irrigation leak lists the early signs. If the break is in buried pipe, see pipe and mainline repair in Glendale.