Close up view of the broken sprinkler that guards the front entrance to my apartment.

During my duty waiting for the cable installation person to visit my apartment I stumbled upon an interesting discovery. As the image to the right shows, the main sprinkler control valve is broken. This causes a strong jet of water to spray straight up in the air and all over the front porch. Anyone trying to leave through the front door during the sprinkler period will get soaking wet.

Interestingly, perhaps, is that no one knew this was happening because the sprinklers turn on just after 9 am and everyone is already gone by that time. The landlady previously asked the gardener about the brown patches spreading across the front grass. The gardener had no idea what could be causing this browning considering that the grass must be getting plenty of water.

This may also explain the recent breaking of the rain gutter above the porch. The water jet blasts directly into this gutter and probably wore it down over the weeks that it has been running. Now everyone is aware of the problem and it will be fixed very soon. It seems that taking a day off to manage the home front once in a while is a good idea.

The image below is a fuller view of the spray as it blocks the apartment entrance.

Full view of the broken sprinkler with perspective for its coverage of the front porch area.

Tags: broken sprinkler, water jet