Question
I just had a sprinkler system installed last week and it was winterized and shut down after I was instructed on how to use the control panel. There is a section of my yard that has had standing water puddles ever since the installation and the rest of the yard (on all other sides of the house) is completely dry. There is also water inside the valve box. It hasn't rained in 5 days, yet the repair person states that standing water is due to the water leaching from the clay in my yard due to when they tested the system and winterized it 5 days ago, or it is from run off from my neighbor (their yard is also dry). The repair guy is coming back out tomorrow and I would like to have some intelligent questions to ask because this doesn't make since to me. My yard wasn't a mudpit before and now it is, only where the sprinkler lines are on that side of the house. Help!  

Answer
Hey DMF, is the side that seems to have water on the north side of the house? Sometimes if the yard has shade all the time, it will take longer for it to dry up. If the areas that have standing water puddles haven't dried up in 5 days, it sounds as if you might have a small leak somewhere. It seems strange to me, if the system is completely shut off, why you would still have any water leaking anywhere. You might ask them to make sure the main shut off valve to the sprinkling system is operating properly, in that it is indeed shuting off fully, and not leaking a little water through the valve all the time. Not knowing your yard, could the area where you are seeing puddles of water, be where your main water line to the house is located, and they might have cut (or nicked) your main water line to the house? If you have a water meter, you can look at the top of the meter, and normally there will be a dial that rotates when water is running. Make sure that nothing is on inside the house (faucet, toilet, washing machine, etc.) and look at the meter to see if it is running. If it is, then you might have a leak somewhere. It is not un-common for a valve box to have water in it especially after a rain, but the valve box should also be dry after 5 days. Normally there are a lot of leaks in a valve box, it the valves are not tightened properly, but in your case, with the system shut off, it should not be leaking in the valve box, unless the main shut off valve is not shutting off properly. Hopefully this gives you a better idea what to look for. Let me know if you need anything else. Thanks and have a great day.