05/11/2026
ATTENTION ALL CAPE CORAL UTILITIES CUSTOMERS
The City of Cape Coral Utilities Department is reducing the irrigation water pressure during the day to approximately 25 PSI from 8 am-8 pm. They believe this will help conserve water. This creates several issues. The first being that irrigation valves close WITH pressure. If you reduce the pressure, the valves are more likely to get stuck open. With the pressure being reduced it makes it near impossible to perform any type of maintenance properly. Broken heads, broken pipes become much more difficult to find, heads will often not even pop up all the way, and adjustments of spray patterns vary with pressure. This prevents homeowners or contractors from being able to adjust the system to be as efficient as possible, so when it does run overnight water is being wasted. When the City reduces the pressure it also causes water hammer throughout the system. That's the thumping sound you hear when a zone is trying to shut down but the valve doesn't have enough pressure to seat all of the way. If you have had issues with the sprinkler heads surging on and off during the day, that is most likely the cause. See the attached video Water hammer can also cause damage to your irrigation plumbing and the control valves by cracking fittings.
We have expressed our concerns to the city. They believe reducing the pressure during the day conserves water. They also feel that we should be performing irrigation system checks between the hours of 8 PM and 8 AM. Between valves not closing and maintenance issues piling up, we can not see how the City is saving water. Performing maintenace checks in the dark is just another way to cost the residents unnecessary money. Checking irrigation by flashlight takes longer and increases the possiblity of something being missed.
If you need help determining whether the City pressure issues are causing problems for your system, give Tony a call at 239-340-9087
City of Cape Coral Government
WINK News
TNT Marino Irrigation, Inc. is a State Licensed and Insured Irrigation Contractor SCC131152646
