Case study: mapping an irrigation system instead of replacing it

A customer wanted their lawn irrigation system updated. The quotes they received came back at over twenty thousand dollars, and what they described as an update was in practice a full replacement of the existing system.

The reason was not that the old system had failed. It was that nobody knew how it was laid out. Without a map of what is in the ground, tearing it all out and starting again is the only approach a contractor can price with confidence.

Mapping instead of guessing

We located and mapped the entire irrigation system: mains, laterals, valve boxes and heads. For a fraction of the replacement quote, the customer went from having no idea what was buried to having a drawing of it.

With the layout known, the work stopped being a replacement and became a handful of targeted changes. They kept the system they already had and spent the money on the parts that actually needed attention.

Why irrigation is hard to work on blind

• Most of it is plastic pipe, which carries no signal for conventional locating equipment.

• Systems get extended for new beds, lawn areas and outbuildings, usually without records.

• Old zones get capped and left in place rather than removed.

• Valve boxes get buried under turf, bark or landscaping over time.

Ground penetrating radar finds plastic line and disturbed soil that electromagnetic methods cannot. On irrigation work that is usually the difference between a map and a guess.

The pattern worth noticing

Replacement is often priced not because the existing system is beyond use but because nobody can see it. That is true of irrigation, and it is true of private electrical, water and sewer lines as well. A map changes the question from what should we replace to what actually needs work.

Related reading: utility mapping for property and construction projects and common private utility locating mistakes on rural properties.

Locating and mapping irrigation systems

Advanced Underground Utility Locating has been locating private utilities since 2002. We locate and map irrigation mains, laterals and valve boxes, along with private water, sewer, septic, electric, gas and communications lines that 811 will not mark. RTK collection is available where you want the map as survey-grade points rather than paint.

Spokane, Coeur d'Alene and the Idaho panhandle: 509-710-2621. Seattle, Tacoma and Portland: 509-954-8623. Bend, Medford and northern California: 541-678-0629. Eugene and Roseburg: 541-780-4149. Coos Bay and the Oregon Coast: 541-315-6728.