This question has come up as there has not been a lot of visible progress on this project since last November. However, a lot of progress with the underground irrigation system has been made and we are now expecting completion in July.
The primary problem was that we needed to have a reliable source of water throughout the medians before we could put in the new plants. Unfortunately, the leaks from the original system that was the motivation to replace the irrigation system have appeared in different areas. To reduce expenses and minimize tearing up the top of Milam, we tapped into the well below two valves that we had planned to leave alone, but we came to realize that we needed to tap into the water line above those valves. This leak repair is scheduled to be done before July 12. The new irrigation system is now operating with the upper 10 zones fed by the Milam well and the lower 10 zones fed by the Millhaven well. The plantings are expected to be completed before the end of July.
A number of the problems with the new irrigation system were interconnected, which made resolving them more challenging. The new system has 20 zones, more than 250 heads, and commercial valves and controllers. At the roundabout, we have very high water pressure because the 100-foot drop from the well adds about 45 psi to the 70 psi at the wellhead. This is enough to blow apart some fittings but we want some of the added pressure to get the water back up Milam to allow two zones to be able to run at the same. This has caused multiple blow-outs of the fittings getting water to the monument. A leak in one of the valves over the winter also caused other valves to be damaged, which caused some zones to leak water even when they were supposed to be off. The multiple sources of unplanned water flow created uncertainty and finger-pointing between the well and the new irrigation system. The lack of blueprints or other guides to the location of the old pipeline further delayed identifying and correcting some of the leaks.
The old system was a six-inch pipe buried 9 ft. underground, and leaks could not be easily detected unless water rose to the surface. Once it was located, it required digging 9 ft, usually under the road, to repair it. The new system is two-inch PVC and only two feet underground in the medians. Our consultants recommended going a minimum of 18" below ground to avoid freezing, but we went further "just in case."
Activating the new irrigation system will be the catalyst for the additional landscaping to start, as we need water to ensure the continued growth of the new plantings. Now that the system is fully operational, our landscapers will start adding new plants, bushes, mulch, stone, and boulders to complete this portion of the project. Work should go rather quickly now that the landscapers have the green light to proceed.
Thanks very much for your patience--we know it is disappointing not to have the entrance to our community look better, but improvement is on the way!
-Cathedral Pines Metropolitan District Board