Yep, that was it.

The 4 inch main pipe broke, and there was no watering for three or four days during a very hot segment.

Got it back together, it ran for a week or so, then it broke again, in a different spot, just before the heat wave.

I’ve fixed the pipes again, and we are watering, but the damage is done.  I felt like it was doing pretty well up until the first break.

There’s now an automatic shutoff if any of the stations flow too much water.  I’d still have to fix it, but at least we won’t lose the water.

The next project is a pressure relief valve that should eliminate any water hammer, which is what is suspected to cause the pipe breaks.

I still need to backfill the holes dug to fix the pipe.   If anyone’s feeling like a little manual labor, walk over where the piles of dirt are and either throw the big rocks over the side, so they don’t go back in the hole, or  throw some dirt in the hole with a shovel.

Once the dirt is up to the level of the pipes, I can use Gracie to fill in the holes without much chance of  breaking the pipe.