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Irrigation Leak Detection

Leak detection

Irrigation Leak Detection

Locate and repair buried leaks on irrigation mainlines, laterals and valve boxes without digging up the whole system.

Technician using electronic acoustic leak detection equipment on a gravel lot beside a commercial building

Irrigation systems leak in ways that are easy to miss and expensive to ignore. A mainline that is under constant pressure can crack at a fitting and run all season into ground that drains. A lateral can split under a driveway. A valve can stick open and drain a zone all night. On a metered system the bill goes up; on a well the pump never rests. On a lot of Kitsap properties the first sign is a water bill investigation that reveals the house line is fine and the irrigation branch is not.

We locate on irrigation the same way we locate on service lines: isolate the branch, confirm the loss with the meter or gauges, trace the mainline and laterals, and listen along them with acoustic equipment. On a pressurized mainline a correlator narrows the break. On laterals and valve boxes we work zone by zone. The result is a marked spot instead of a dozen exploratory holes in the lawn.

Repairs are usually quick once the break is found: a cut-and-couple on poly or PVC, a replaced fitting, a rebuilt valve. We bed and backfill the repair and put the turf back. Where an old system has a mainline that is failing in several places, we'll give you a straight recommendation about replacing the main rather than chasing it one break at a time.

When you need irrigation leak detection

A high water bill that the house line test doesn't explain
A zone that runs weak or a head that never pops up fully
A persistently wet or sunken spot along the mainline route
A valve box full of water when the system is off
A well pump that cycles only when the irrigation is pressurized

How the job goes

Isolate the irrigation. Separate the irrigation branch from the house supply and confirm the loss with the meter or gauges.
Trace the system. Locate the mainline, the valve boxes and the laterals. Most systems have no as-built drawing.
Listen and correlate. Acoustic detection along the pressurized mainline, with a correlator across long runs, then zone by zone on laterals.
Mark and repair. The break is marked, opened, repaired with the right fitting and pipe, tested, and the turf put back.

Equipment and materials

Acoustic ground microphone and correlator
Pipe locator
PVC, poly and PEX repair fittings
Valve components
Turf and bedding restoration

What shapes the scope

Every property is different, and these are the things that decide whether a job is a quick morning or a full day. We'll tell you which it is before we start.

Whether the leak is on the pressurized mainline or a lateral
The number of zones and valve boxes
Whether the system layout is known
Age and material of the mainline

From the field

Irrigation Leak Detection on real Kitsap jobs

360 Leak Finders technician crouched on gravel using an acoustic ground microphone and headphones to pinpoint an underground water leak — Listening for the leak with an acoustic ground microphone

Leak detection technician with headphones pressing an acoustic sensor to gravel to locate a buried leak — Pinpointing a buried leak before any digging starts

Vivax-Metrotech vLoc pipe and cable locator screen showing signal strength and depth — Vivax-Metrotech locator reading a buried line

Vivax-Metrotech pipe and cable locator kit with receiver, transmitter and signal clamp in its case — The pipe and cable locating kit

Brass compression fitting joining new blue PEX water line to an existing supply pipe in an open trench — New brass fitting tying a blue PEX service line into the existing supply

Narrow trench opened along a house wall beside an outdoor AC condenser to reach a leaking supply line — Opening a tight trench beside a heat pump pad

Blue PEX water line laid in a trench along a foundation next to a corrugated drain pipe — New PEX supply run beside an existing corrugated footing drain

Blue PEX service line routed beneath a wooden utility enclosure against the house siding — Routing a new supply line under a built-in enclosure

Where we do this

Irrigation Leak Detection across the peninsula

Each community page covers what the local ground, water utility and housing stock mean for this work.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Bremerton

The shipyard city's older galvanized lines fail quietly and show up as a wet lawn or a water bill nobody can explain.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Silverdale

The 1980s and 90s subdivision boom around the mall left thousands of polybutylene service lines that are now failing on schedule.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Port Orchard

The county seat's hillside lots and clay soils turn small leaks into slope problems, and long rural runs hide breaks for months.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Poulsbo

Little Norway's mix of century-old downtown lines and fast-draining bay-side outwash means leaks hide well and fail suddenly.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Bainbridge Island

Clay soils and 500-foot driveways make island leaks slow to surface and expensive to guess at, which is why we locate before we dig.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Kingston

Ferry-town acreage with long wooded service runs where a leak can hide under hardpan for an entire winter.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Keyport

A century-old Navy village with short lots, old lines and shoreline clay that keeps everything damp.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Tracyton

Bluff-side lots over Dyes Inlet where seeps and springs make it easy to mistake groundwater for a leak and vice versa.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Hansville

Beach cabins at the tip of the peninsula with shallow lines, high water tables and a long drive for anyone who isn't already in Kitsap.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Indianola

A century-old summer colony where shared lines, easements and bluff clay make leaks a neighborhood puzzle.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Suquamish

Two utilities, mixed-era housing and Agate Pass shoreline clay in the heart of the Port Madison reservation.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Manchester

Rich Passage waterfront lots where the service line runs downhill and every leak finds the beach.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Enetai

East Bremerton's bluff-side neighborhood where mid-century copper lines fail on slopes that drain toward the bay.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Lofall

Rural acreage between Poulsbo and the Hood Canal Bridge where well lines run hundreds of feet through hardpan.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Olalla

Well country at the south end of Kitsap where a leaking line shows up as a pump that won't shut off.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Seabeck

Hood Canal forest parcels where boulders, hardpan and long well lines make guessing at a leak an expensive mistake.

Irrigation Leak Detection in East Port Orchard

South Kitsap's 1970s and 80s subdivisions where copper and poly lines are reaching the end of their run.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Rollingbay

The northeast corner of Bainbridge where clay slopes, long drives and small community systems keep leaks hidden for seasons.

Irrigation Leak Detection in Port Townsend

A Victorian seaport where 1890s service lines sit under historic sidewalks and the gravity pipeline from the Quilcene delivers the water.

FAQ

Irrigation Leak Detection: common questions

Can you find a leak on an irrigation line that only runs at night?

Yes. We pressurize the system for the test and listen while it's under pressure, regardless of your controller schedule.

Do you install new irrigation?

We locate and repair buried irrigation leaks and replace failed mainlines. For a full new system design we'll point you to an irrigation contractor.

Also

Services that often go together

Water meter box exposed in overgrown brush with a narrow trench leading away from it

High Water Bill Leak Investigation

Find out where the water on a surprise bill is actually going, and fix it if it's a buried leak.

Underground Water Leak Detection

Acoustic and correlator leak detection that pinpoints a buried water line break before anyone digs.

Black poly water line laid in a trench beside a laurel hedge and lattice

Water Line Repair

Spot repair of a broken or leaking underground water service line, from excavation to restoration.

Something underground isn't right?

We answer 24 hours a day. We locate before we dig, and we handle the whole job with our own crew and equipment.

Call (206) 354-9906