7 Signs Your Commercial Irrigation System Needs Repair in North Houston
A broken sprinkler head is obvious. Water shooting sideways across the parking lot tends to get noticed pretty quickly.
But most irrigation problems aren't that dramatic. They're quiet. They build up over weeks or months until suddenly you're staring at a water bill that makes no sense, or patches of dead grass that weren't there last season.
For property managers and business owners across The Woodlands, Humble, Spring, Conroe, and the rest of North Houston, catching these problems early is the difference between a quick repair and a full system overhaul.
Here are seven warning signs that your commercial irrigation system needs attention.
1. Your Water Bill Jumped and You Don't Know Why
This is usually the first sign something's wrong. If your water costs spiked 20% or more without any changes to your watering schedule, there's likely a leak hiding somewhere in the system.
Underground leaks are especially common in North Houston. The clay-heavy soil expands and contracts with our humidity swings, which stresses pipes over time. Tree roots are another culprit. They'll find their way into irrigation lines looking for water and cause cracks that slowly get worse.
A professional inspection can locate these hidden leaks before they drain your budget.
2. Brown Patches Despite Regular Watering
If certain areas of your property are turning brown while the rest stays green, your sprinkler heads probably aren't covering everything evenly.
This happens for a few reasons. Heads get knocked out of alignment by mowers or foot traffic. Nozzles get clogged with sediment from our hard North Houston water. Or the original system design just didn't account for how your landscape has matured over the years.
Walk your property while the system is running. You'll usually spot the coverage gaps pretty quickly.
3. Water Pooling in Low Areas
Standing water around your sprinkler heads or in low spots across the property points to one of two problems.
Either you have a leak that's dumping water faster than the soil can absorb it, or your watering schedule is too aggressive for the drainage on your property. Both waste water and create conditions where fungus and disease can take hold in your turf.
This is especially common after heavy rain events. If your system doesn't have rain sensors (or they've stopped working), it keeps watering on schedule regardless of what fell from the sky.
4. Sprinkler Heads Sputtering or Misting
Healthy sprinkler heads produce a clean, consistent spray pattern. When they start sputtering, misting, or producing weak streams, something's affecting water pressure.
Low pressure usually means a leak somewhere upstream, a partially closed valve, or municipal supply issues. High pressure causes misting, which wastes water to evaporation before it ever hits the ground.
In The Woodlands and parts of Montgomery County, the Defined Irrigation Schedule limits watering to two nights per week. If your heads aren't performing efficiently during those windows, your landscape suffers.
5. Zones That Won't Turn On (Or Won't Shut Off)
If a zone fails to activate when it should, the problem usually lives in the valve or the wiring that controls it. Valves can stick closed from debris or mineral buildup. Solenoids burn out. Wiring degrades over time, especially when it's been nicked by previous landscaping work.
The opposite problem is a zone that won't stop running. This typically means a valve is stuck open, which will absolutely destroy your water bill and can flood sections of your property.
Both issues need immediate attention.
6. Your Controller Is Acting Strange
The controller is the brain of your irrigation system. When it starts behaving erratically, the whole system goes haywire.
Common symptoms include schedules that reset themselves, zones running at the wrong times, or displays that blank out randomly. Sometimes it's as simple as a dead backup battery. Other times the controller itself is failing and needs replacement.
If your controller is more than 10 years old, it might also be worth upgrading to a smart controller that adjusts watering based on weather data. The water savings pay for the upgrade faster than most people expect.
7. Visible Damage to System Components
Take a walk around your property and actually look at your sprinkler heads, valve boxes, and any exposed piping.
Cracked heads, broken risers, and valve box covers that have been run over are all signs the system needs maintenance. These visible problems are usually the tip of the iceberg. If the stuff you can see is damaged, there's almost always more going on underground.
This is especially true for commercial properties with heavy vehicle or foot traffic near irrigated areas.
Why These Problems Get Worse in North Houston
Our region puts unique stress on irrigation systems. The summer heat pushes systems to run longer. Clay soils shift constantly. Hard water leaves mineral deposits that clog nozzles and valves. Hurricane season can dump inches of rain one week and then nothing for the next month.
Commercial properties in Humble, Atascocita, The Woodlands, Spring, Conroe, Tomball, Cleveland, and Cypress all deal with these same challenges. Regular maintenance is the only way to stay ahead of them.
What to Do Next
If any of these signs sound familiar, don't ignore them. Small irrigation problems become expensive ones when they're left alone.
JBS Lawn provides commercial irrigation system inspections, repairs, and maintenance throughout North Houston. We work with property managers, business owners, and anyone responsible for keeping commercial grounds looking professional.
Schedule a free consultation and let's get your irrigation system working the way it should.