Is Your Sprinkler System Ready for the Rest of Summer?

If you haven’t taken a close look at your sprinkler system since spring, July is the perfect time to do it. When you turn on your sprinkler system at the start of the season, small issues can slip by unnoticed, and by midsummer those little problems can turn into dead grass, wasted water, and expensive repairs. A quick mid-season check can save you a lot of headache before the hottest weeks are behind us.

Start With a Zone-by-Zone Walk-Through

The most straightforward thing you can do is run each zone manually and walk the yard while it’s running. Watch for heads that aren’t popping up fully, spots that aren’t getting water, or any heads spraying in the wrong direction. In areas like Commerce City and throughout the North Denver Metro, soil conditions and sun exposure can vary quite a bit from one part of a yard to another, so it’s worth being thorough.

A few things to look for as you go:

• Broken or cracked sprinkler heads (you may see water pooling or squirting sideways)
• Heads that are tilted or sunken below grade
• Dry patches that suggest a clogged nozzle or a head that’s out of adjustment
• Any visible leaks at the valve box or along the supply lines

It only takes one bad head to create a dry stripe in your lawn, and by July that stripe is going to be obvious.

Check Your Timer and Run Times

Your controller schedule that made sense in May may not be keeping up now. July in Colorado tends to bring more heat and more evaporation, so run times often need to go up. Take a look at your current schedule and make sure you’re watering deeply enough to reach the root zone rather than just the surface. Short, frequent cycles encourage shallow roots and weaker grass overall.

If your controller has a rain sensor, test it. These sensors are a great water-saving feature, but they can stick or malfunction, causing your system to run even after a good rain or skip a cycle when you actually need it.

Look for Signs of Pressure Problems

Pressure that’s too high or too low will throw off your whole system. If heads are misting very finely rather than arcing the way they should, pressure is likely too high and you may be losing a lot of water to drift. On the other hand, heads that barely pop up or fail to rotate properly often point to low pressure, which can mean a partially closed valve, a leak somewhere in the line, or a backflow preventer that needs attention.

We’ve been doing sprinkler repairs and installations across Thornton, Broomfield, Westminster, Erie, Lafayette, and surrounding areas since 1997, and pressure-related issues are among the most common things we see this time of year. They’re also some of the most fixable once you know where to look.

Don’t Ignore the Backflow Preventer

Your backflow preventer protects your home’s drinking water from contamination, so it’s worth a quick visual check. Look for any dripping, corrosion, or signs of wear around the device. If you see water where there shouldn’t be any, it’s worth having a professional take a look before the issue gets worse.

When to Call in Some Help

Some fixes are easy enough to handle yourself, like adjusting a sprinkler head or tweaking a timer. But if you’re finding broken lines, valve problems, or anything that requires digging, it’s worth bringing in someone who knows what’s underneath. We always contact 811 before any digging, which is both a legal requirement and just smart practice for protecting underground utilities.

We also stand behind our work. If anything we repair doesn’t function properly, we’ll come back and fix it at no cost to you. That’s a commitment we’ve kept with homeowners and commercial clients across the North Denver area for nearly thirty years, and we don’t plan on changing that.

If your system is due for a mid-season tune-up or you’ve spotted something that doesn’t look right, give us a call or drop us an email. We’re happy to take a look and get things sorted out before summer gets away from you.