Understanding Our Garden’s Irrigation System-Part 2

Did you know VISTA’s water network includes over 100 valves? In fact, water passes through five different valves before it reaches your garden bed!

Our garden uses 1,000–2,000 gallons of water per day, compared with the average U.S. household’s 300 gallons. Thankfully, our solar-powered well and distribution system has already paid for itself many times over.

What Do All These Valves Do?

Our valves serve three main purposes:

1. Manual watering and cleaning. These allow us to turn water on and off by hand whenever needed.

2. Troubleshooting leaks. Isolation valves let us shut off different sections of the irrigation network. By turning sections off one at a time, we can pinpoint where a leak is occurring and fix only that part of the system.

3. Controlling water flow during weather changes. For example, on rainy days we may turn off all sprinkler zones while leaving other areas active.

Types of Valves in the Garden

• Ball valves: Most of our manual valves are ball valves. They open and close with a simple quarter-turn, are very reliable, and are easy to visually check. For instance, you can quickly see if one isn’t fully closed. They offer some control over flow, although not as precise as the “silcock” valves you may have at home.
  

• Diaphragm valves with self-latching solenoids: These control our sprinklers. The self-latching solenoid uses battery power only to open and close the valve, not to keep it open. Without this feature, batteries would drain very quickly.

Valve Tags: What the Colors Mean

You may have noticed the colored tags around the garden:

• Yellow tags identify isolation valves for specific sprinkler zones.

• Blue tags mark valves on hose lines.

If you ever have a problem with a valve, please report the tag number so we can quickly locate and address the issue.

Our irrigation system is more complex than it appears, and thanks to this small but mighty network of valves, the entire garden stays watered, healthy, and running smoothly.