Signs your irrigation needs repair

Ron here with the five things I tell every homeowner to watch for.

One: soggy spots or runoff that never dry — usually a stuck valve or cracked line. Two: dry patches while everything around them is green — a clogged or misaimed head. Three: a water bill that jumped for no reason.

Four: heads that don't pop up or don't retract. Five: the meter ticking when everything is supposedly off — the classic hidden-leak tell.

Any one of these is worth a quick tune-up. Left alone, a small leak wastes thousands of gallons and browns out your lawn under restrictions.