The most common mistake in commercial irrigation winterisation is not a technical one. It is letting the first cold morning of October decide when the system gets switched off.
A shutdown carried out in a rush is a shutdown where something gets missed, and what gets missed rarely announces itself until April. Backflow devices drained partially rather than fully. Sections added to the system over the years that never made it onto a drawing, and so never get drained. Dripline blown down at sprinkler pressure, which is enough to damage emitters while still leaving water behind them.
Reacting to the forecast also cuts autumn watering short. On sites with new planting or recently laid turf, September and early October can be dry, and young planting still needs water. Switching off early to be safe has a cost that turns up in establishment failures the following year.
The better approach is to book a fixed window, usually late October into early November across most of the UK, and hold the system in a reduced-run configuration until then. Planting gets what it needs through autumn, and the shutdown itself happens on a plan with the right people and equipment on site. Exposed or northern locations, and sites with shallow pipework, should plan earlier.
The preparation matters as much as the date. Before anything is drained, confirm the location of every isolation valve, drain point, backflow device and manifold, and check which zones feed which areas. On systems that have been extended over the years, the newer sections are the ones most likely to be forgotten, and a zone that never gets drained will keep failing every spring while looking like bad luck.
“Nearly everything we repair in April traces back to something that was not done properly in October,” says Ed Harwood, Maintenance Contracts Manager at Waterscapes. “Usually it is water somewhere it should not have been. It is a cheap job to do well and an expensive one to do quickly.”
The final step is a written record of what was drained, when, by whom, and anything found or deferred. It turns spring recommissioning from an investigation into a checklist, and it answers the question that comes up every April: whether the fault was there in October, or arrived over winter.
Waterscapes provides specialist irrigation and water feature maintenance, repair, refurbishment and technical support, including a full design facility, for commercial and public-facing environments across the UK. Contact maintenance@waterscapes.co.uk or visit www.waterscapes.co.uk.
