2/23/2018 8:02 AM
We have an irrigation leak somewhere in our system running about 14gal/minute according to our meter. Or we have several small leaks. The water is city water, all gravity fed and is currently shut off for the winter. We're trying to get a strategy for finding the leak when we charge the system in a couple months. Our course is over 75 years old with a hodge podge of drainage systems that all drain into a creek at the base of the property. My guess is that the leak is somewhere next to a perforated drain line that is being directly fed to the creek and that's why we're not seeing it. To complicate things, all our main line isolation valves are old and failing so trying to isolate certain areas and then systematically turn on section by section while watching the meter is tricky. We plan to replace some key isolation valves so we can at least separate the front 9 from the back and narrow our chances.
Other than using that standard approach and replacing a ton of valves, I thought about charging the entire system, then turning off the water and allow the leak to drain some water out of the system and then inject dye at the inlet (after the double check valve). The dye should first travel to the point where the water is leaking out and hopefully reveal itself.
Has anyone tried this or am I asking for trouble by putting dye into the system?
Rocky Tharp
West Seattle Golf Course