Re: How to enforce water rationing

I hate stuff like that--and have always been paranoid about it happening, so I've tended of overbuild all my irrigation systems, adding multiple shut offs, many redundant, and diversion routes. More than once my efforts have brought a smile to the face of a friend who is an irrigation contractor. But we're on a well and I find the prospect of completely shutting down the water supply scary. 

On Sep 26, 2007, at 9:58 AM, Johnson Cyndi D Civ 95 CG/SCSRT wrote:


I got home last night to discover a lake in the front yard. Seems the
sprinklers had been on all day. We have everything on controllers so I
went and turned off the electronic box. No effect. I went and fiddled
with all the various fiddly things on the valves. No effect. I sloshed
through the lake looking for other valves, thinking maybe I had the
wrong ones...no luck. I call husband, who's in D.C. this week - his
phone is turned off. I figure I can turn it off at the street until I
hear from husband, but that's a weird valve and I couldn't figure out
how to move it. Great.
So I call the water company, my neighborhood has a private water system
and husband is actually on the water board. They are quite cheerful
about coming over and obviously think I'm some ignorant female who can't 
figure it out, that's okay with me, just get here. And so in about half
an hour (the lake is spreading) the guy shows up. We spend another half
hour fiddling with valves and sloshing through the lake before he admits 
defeat - the one sprinkler valve is broken beyond repair and the only
way to stop the water is to shut it off at the street. Unsurprisingly we 
have a tool to do this in our garage, I just didn't recognize it.
I considered packing up and taking my morning shower here at the gym at
work, but decided it was easier just to turn the water back on,
sprinklers included, for the time it takes me to get ready and turn it
off when I leave. After all I'm out there bleary-eyed and unwashed
feeding the livestock at 4 am anyway.  I still haven't heard from
husband and I decided to leave the sprinkler repair for him, I can live
with this for a couple days, serves him right for being out of town.
However the yard is so saturated that 30 minutes of water this morning
re-filled the lake. I'm hoping for warm weather to dry things out a tiny bit because when I get home I have to turn it back on for long enough to water the horses and sheep. Then I think I'll go out to dinner - I can't 
cook without water, right? Too bad. :-)

Cyndi

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Island Jim
Southwest Florida
27.1 N, 82.4 W
Hardiness Zone 10
Heat Zone 10
Sunset Zone 25
Minimum 30 F [-1 C]
Maximum 100 F [38 C]

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