Sometimes when we drive vehicles or lawn mowers over areas on the ground that have buried sprinkler system components we run the risk of broken water mains or cause sprinkler valves to break at the point where these valves are attached to the pvc pipe.
In terms of water mains where sprinkler systems are concerned, the most common place for a break in the pipe is at the backflow control valve or at one of the sprinkler valve boxes. These boxes are buried in the ground for the most part and usually have either a round green cap on them or a square lid.
Note: To repair a leak at either of these sites, it may be necessary to turn off the water main at the main water meter.
Once the water main is off, it may be necessary to dig out and excavate around the irrigation valves, the box, any wiring, and any pvc pipes. Sometimes, you need to expose 2-3 feet of the pvc pipe in order to work with the valve, other times, a series of elbows can be installed to minimize trenching.
Once you can get to the leak, you’ll often have to cut out the bad/broken part, replace it with a new part, and connect everything back together properly.