Most irrigation system failures do not announce themselves loudly. They develop gradually — a slow pressure drop, a valve solenoid wearing down, a head settling lower every season — until the day something stops working and a dry brown patch is the first visible symptom. By that point, the system has been underperforming for weeks or months.

Knowing what to watch for means you can address issues while they are still minor repairs — not after the lawn has suffered visible damage or a pipe has finally failed. These are the five signs Goterra technicians most commonly find had been present for some time before a homeowner called.

Sign 1: Dry or Brown Areas That Don’t Respond to Rain

If specific areas of your lawn stay brown or dry even after significant rainfall, those areas are not receiving adequate moisture — either from rain or from irrigation. Rain alone typically penetrates the soil uniformly, so dry patches after rain almost always point to a soil or coverage issue rather than a rainfall deficit.

Brown areas that appear between scheduled irrigation days but recover briefly after the system runs, then dry out again, are consistent with insufficient irrigation coverage — a head not reaching that area, or a zone that is running but not delivering full output due to pressure or nozzle issues.

What to do:

Run each zone manually and observe. Look specifically at whether every head in the zone is reaching the dry area. If you cannot identify the coverage gap, schedule a free inspection — this is exactly what a systematic zone review covers.

Sign 2: Persistently Wet or Soggy Areas

A wet area that appears between irrigation days — or that stays consistently boggy even in dry weather — almost always indicates an underground pipe leak or a valve that is not fully closing after the zone completes its cycle.

Pressurized leaks in lateral lines can lose significant volumes of water before becoming visible at the surface. A pipe that has been slowly weeping for several weeks may appear as a perpetually soft or spongy lawn area rather than a visible puddle.

What to do:

Mark the wet area’s boundaries and observe whether it grows or stays consistent between irrigation days. A growing wet area suggests an active pressurized leak. A static wet area may indicate a valve that is weeping slightly when closed. Both require a professional to locate and repair correctly.

Sign 3: An Unexplained Spike in Your Water Bill

Your water usage patterns are relatively predictable. If your water bill increases significantly — more than ten to fifteen percent — without a corresponding change in usage habits, irrigation is the most likely source. The system runs automatically and on a schedule you may not be monitoring closely.

Common irrigation causes of unexplained water bill increases include a valve stuck in the open position (zone running continuously), a mainline break (system pressurized and leaking at all times), or a rain sensor that has failed and stopped preventing irrigation during and after rainfall.

Compare your current bill to the same month last year. Irrigation systems use water on a seasonal pattern — a fair comparison requires the same season, not just the previous month.

Sign 4: Your Controller Has Not Been Touched Since Installation

If your irrigation controller is running the same program it was set up with when your system was installed, there is a strong chance it is not programmed correctly for current conditions. Several things change over time that should prompt a controller review:

System age — as heads and valves age, their efficiency changes and programming may need adjustment

SWFWMD restriction phase changes — Phase III is currently active; many systems are still running Phase I or II schedules

Seasonal changes — summer peak demand and winter reduced demand require different runtimes

Landscape changes — new plantings, added beds, or grown-in trees change water requirements zone by zone

Sign 5: Heads That Are Visibly Crooked, Sunken, or Not Popping Up

Sprinkler heads should sit flush with the turf surface when retracted, and pop up cleanly to their full height when running. Over time, heads can settle into the soil, be pushed sideways by foot traffic or mowing, or develop physical damage from lawnmower strikes.

A head that is slightly crooked may appear fine until you watch it run — then you see it is spraying 30 degrees off its intended arc and missing the area it is supposed to cover. A head that has settled two inches below the turf line is physically blocked from distributing water correctly by the surrounding grass.

Hunter Pressure-Regulated Heads: What to Know

Goterra specifies Hunter pressure-regulated spray heads on all repairs and installations. These heads regulate water pressure internally, which means they produce consistent, mist-free coverage regardless of system pressure variations. They are the EPA WaterSense standard for residential irrigation and significantly outperform standard heads in coverage consistency and longevity.

If your system currently has standard (non-pressure-regulated) heads, upgrading at the time of a repair is worth considering — the difference in coverage consistency and water efficiency is meaningful, particularly on a one-day-per-week Phase III schedule where every irrigation cycle has to count.

What to Do If You Notice These Signs

None of these signs require immediate emergency response, but all of them are worth addressing before they develop into larger problems. A soggy area that is currently a weeping seal becomes a pressurized break. A controller running the wrong schedule accumulates fine risk under Phase III. A head running at an angle becomes a dead zone by next dry season.

Goterra’s free inspection is specifically designed for this kind of early-stage assessment. You call, we come out, we run your system systematically, document every finding, and give you a written picture of your system’s current condition — before you spend anything. You decide what to address and when.