Most irrigation problems announce themselves clearly — if you know what to look for. Walk your yard while a zone runs and watch for these five warning signs.
1. Brown patches next to soggy spots
Uneven coverage is the classic symptom of mismatched heads or clogged nozzles. One area drowns while another thirsts — and raising run times only makes both worse.
2. Water on the driveway, not the lawn
Overspray past edges means heads are misaligned or the wrong arc for the space. A tune-up fixes alignment; chronic cases need different heads or added drip lines.
3. A controller older than your phone
Old dial timers water on schedule, rain or shine. Modern weather-aware controllers skip rainy days automatically and typically pay for themselves within a couple of seasons.
4. Geysers, puddles, and sinking heads
Broken heads waste shocking amounts of water fast. If repairs are constant, the system may be undersized, over-pressured, or simply past its service life.
- Start with an audit: coverage, pressure, and controller age
- Put lawn on rotors, beds on drip — never both on one zone
- Add a rain sensor at minimum; upgrade the controller next
