If you notice one or more wet spots on your property, here are the most likely causes and potential fixes:
- The watering cycle in the wet area is too long or too frequent. Resetting the timer to run a shorter cycle or fewer cycles per week may solve the problem. This may be a one-time adjustment, or, depending on the weather, may require multiple adjustments during the watering season.
- One or more sprinkler heads are clogged, worn, or broken. Clogged sprinkler heads can be cleaned by irrigation technicians to remove debris such as dirt, small stones, and lawn clippings so that proper operation is restored. Worn or broken sprinkler heads are easy for irrigation technicians to replace.
- An underground water supply line is leaking. If you have a newer system, a supply line leak could be caused by animal damage or a yard sign that has punctured the line. Leaks are more common in older systems, especially systems where white or gray PVC pipe was used for the supply lines. Over time, PVC pipes can crack or break due to equipment traffic, falling trees, freeze-thaw cycles, rocks that heave up from below the lines, tree roots that throttle the lines, and settling. Glued PVC pipe joints are especially vulnerable to leaks. Cracked or broken sections of pipes can be replaced, and leaky joints can be repaired. If an older system is leaking in several places, and leaks are a common problem every year, replacing the system–or the parts of the system where leaks are common–with newer, more flexible poly piping should be considered.
- Site drainage patterns were altered after the irrigation system was installed. Settlement in filled areas, landscaping, hardscaping, pools, and building additions can change the way surface water flows and irrigation needs in some areas. Solving the problems caused by changes to drainage patterns can range from fixes as simple as changing timer settings or sprinkler head types or locations to reduce the amount of water distribution to wet areas, to fixes that are more involved such as filling in or regrading affected areas so they drain properly.
- The system was not designed properly – or installation shortcuts were taken to reduce cost. An improperly designed or installed system can be remedied by installing more or different heads, and sometimes by installing new watering zones that can run at times and frequencies that are more appropriate to the lawn and landscape areas that are not well served by the original design and installation.
If you have wet areas in your lawn — and your property is in the Flower City, Monroe County, or the Finger Lakes Region–contact Irrigation Tech at 585-225-0380 or email info@irrigationtech.com to arrange for one of our service technicians to diagnose the cause(s) and get your system working properly again.