Why coverage comes first
Sprinkler heads are meant to throw water to the next head, so each spot gets water from more than one direction. When a head is tilted, blocked, clogged, sunk, or missing, the area it covered goes dry first. On a hot Valley afternoon that shows up fast.
How to check it yourself
- Run the zone and watch every head. Is each one popping up, turning, and reaching the next head?
- Look for grass, shrubs, or a fence blocking the spray.
- Look for misting or fogging, a sign of high pressure, or weak spray that falls short, a sign of low pressure or a leak.
- Set out a few straight-sided cans across the zone, run it, and compare how much each one caught. Big differences mean uneven coverage.
Other causes
Not every brown spot is the sprinkler. Pet urine, buried concrete or rock, compacted soil, insects, and disease can all cause patches. If the coverage checks out, look at those next.
Working within the watering days
Fresno, Clovis, and Madera all limit outdoor watering to assigned days, so even coverage matters more than run time. Check the Fresno, Clovis, and Madera schedules. Our free 21-point inspection runs every zone and lists coverage problems by valve, with the cost of each fix.
Safety first: if you can’t stop the water, close the shutoff valve for the irrigation system, or the main shutoff to the house. Before you dig anywhere, call 811 to have buried utility lines marked.
Written by ACRE Landscape Co., Fresno & Clovis. Updated October 26, 2026.