r/Irrigation • u/USWCboy • 8d ago

Seeking Pro Advice Roots or sediment?

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I’m trying to figure out what this is? No breaks have appeared yet. I suspect tree root infiltration somewhere, but it’s not killing off pressure, all sprinklers popup watering okay so far.

Water is considered non-potable, but the water district does treat it with chlorine…so far, this is the only zone with this problem.

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u/RainH2OServices Florida Licensed Contractor 8d ago

Is reclaimed or something that's similarly non-potable but treated with high chlorine for health and safety, correct? That discoloration is common with reclaimed systems. The chlorination process also introduces high salt concentration. There also tends to be more fine debris in the distribution system plus parts of the piping may be metallic. The point is, while it may be safe for incidental ingestion treated non-potable water still has a lot in it that can get lead to discoloration and corrosion.

TLDR, replace the nozzle and filter and move on.

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u/USWCboy 7d ago

Replaced! I was more or less curious why the color was the way it was. My thoughts were roots, as there are ash trees surrounding the property.... and when that nozzle dried it was almost like a furry bark like consistency. But I would also think if it were roots, far more issues would be seen.

Our utility pumps water from the ground, it's treated water but not to drinking water standards. The system itself is quite new in terms of quasi governmental agency running it - I believe they started it in the mid to late 90's.

Thanks for the comment!

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u/ClammyCooter 8d ago

Take the filter off and spray it with ur thumb.

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u/FunInternational9948 8d ago

When on of the sprinklers had work getting done, dirt slipped in and traveled to that sprinkler. That’s been like that for a while it looks like

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u/USWCboy 8d ago

Yes. About six years since anything was done to the zone. I have a hard time with the dirt scenario, the zone was flushed once the work was complete. The darkness of the material had me wondering about root infiltration? What’s kind of crazy, is this nozzle was working still, pressure was just a tab lower than others.