Same or next day
Permanently wet patch, worst in the early morning
One area of lawn or bed never dries out, the grass there is greener or the soil soggy, and it is wettest first thing in the morning — after the night-time irrigation cycle. Water is escaping from the system at that point rather than through the sprinklers.
Irrigation & Landscape
A valve stuck open is treated as urgent because of the water it wastes.
Call nowBook a leak check on WhatsApp01LIKELY CAUSES
What usually sits behind this symptom, and what tells one cause from another.
Leaking lateral or mainline pipe
Wet area persists with irrigation off; pressure drop on an isolated line.
Valve weeping and not closing fully
Low heads on that zone drain or dribble after the cycle ends.
Broken or buried sprinkler head
Head damaged or sunk below soil level at the wet point.
Low-head drainage on a sloped zone
Wet spot always at the lowest head on the run.
02BEFORE ANYONE VISITS
What you can safely check.
- Note whether the patch dries if irrigation is turned off for a couple of days.
- Look for a sprinkler head at or near the wet spot.
- Check the water meter with all taps and irrigation off.
- Keep heavy equipment off the soft area.
03WHAT WE MEASURE
We isolate the irrigation supply, check the water meter, run and stop each zone while watching the wet area, and probe or excavate carefully at the likely point. Valves on that zone are checked for weeping.
04IN A VILLA
Villa irrigation often runs at night, so leaks stay hidden. Many plots have mainlines that are always under pressure, running close to walls and under planters — a wet patch next to the house is also a damp risk for the wall.
05THE FIX
Which repair, and when.
Water is wasted continuously, roots rot, and a leak near the house can drive damp into the wall or undermine paving.
Excavate and repair the pipe
A lateral or mainline is leaking.
Service or replace the valve
The valve does not close fully.
Replace the head or fit a check valve
A head is broken or low-head drainage is the cause.
06Typical villa irrigation callout
AED 180 – 900 depending on the fault
Controller, battery and single-solenoid faults sit at the lower end. Buried line location and repair sits higher and depends on where the fault turns out to be.
07QUESTIONS
- Could it be a mains water leak, not irrigation?
- Yes. Isolating the irrigation and reading the meter tells us which system is leaking.
- Will you have to dig up the garden?
- Only at the leak point once it is narrowed down, and planting is lifted and replaced where possible.