PATRICK'S QUICK ANSWER
Maintain the system seasonally: spring for startup and leaks, summer for coverage and the SAWS schedule, and drain lines before the first freeze. A few checks a year beat a costly repair.
Here is the money problem, Patriot Nation: an irrigation system is the most ignored piece of a Texas yard until it fails, and the failures are usually slow and wasteful, a tilted head watering the driveway, a pinhole leak soaking a flower bed, a cracked line from a freeze nobody left open. That waste shows up on the water bill every single month. A short seasonal routine catches the waste while it is cheap to fix, and water is expensive enough in San Antonio that leaks pay for themselves quickly. Ask Patrick how to maintain your irrigation system.
Spring Startup: The Day That Saves Your Summer Bill
What it is: The first run of the season after winter, and the one that tells you what the cold did to the system.
What to do: Open the valves slowly to avoid a surge that can blow a fitting, walk every zone for leaks and broken heads, and reprogram the controller for the new season. This is the day to catch winter damage before it becomes a summer water bill.
The money rule: A cracked head or a broken line found in March costs a few dollars and an afternoon. The same damage found in July has been running water all season, and the bill arrives with the repair.
The real-world consequence: The homeowner who walks the zones in spring pays for water on the lawn. The one who skips it pays for water on the driveway, the sidewalk, and the street, all summer long.
Summer and Efficiency: Every Drop on Planted Ground
What it is: The season where the system runs the most and the watering rules matter the most. San Antonio's SAWS schedule limits when you can water, and the efficient system works inside those rules.
What to do: Water early in the morning on your SAWS-allowed days, add a rain sensor so the system skips a cycle when it rains, and consider drip irrigation in flower beds, which delivers water to the roots instead of the air. Adjust head angles so every drop lands on planted ground.
The money rule: A rain sensor costs a fraction of one summer of overwatering, and it pays for itself the first time it skips a cycle in a storm. Drip lines in beds use a fraction of the water of spray heads.
The real-world consequence: Watering at noon in the Texas sun means much of it evaporates before the roots see it. Watering on the wrong day can mean a notice from the city. The efficient system keeps the lawn green and the bill and the schedule on your side.
Fall Winterization: The February Surprise Nobody Wants
What it is: Before the first hard freeze, drain the system through its manual drains or have lines blown out with compressed air.
What it means: Buried lines full of water are the classic February surprise, and the repair means trenching across the lawn you just nursed all year. Water expands when it freezes, and a pipe full of water is a pipe waiting to split.
The money rule: A blow-out service is the cheapest repair on this page. The trench-and-repair version is the most expensive, and it always arrives in the worst weather.
The real-world consequence: The neighbors who winterize are watering by March. The ones who skip it are digging up the yard in February, and that is a great way to start the year off wrong.
The Real Cost of Neglect: What Skipping the Checks Costs You
What it is: The slow failure is the expensive one. A system that runs with a leak, a tilted head, or a stuck valve is not failing loudly, it is failing on the bill.
What it means: Every season the system runs unattended, the waste compounds. A leak you never find runs every cycle, every week, all summer. That is not a one-time repair, it is a monthly charge that keeps billing until you look.
The money rule: The seasonal checks cost an afternoon a season. The neglect costs the water bill, the repair, and the lawn you have to replant. Cheap maintenance is the whole point.
The real-world consequence: A well-maintained system adds to the curb appeal that sells a home and keeps the water bill sane while you live there. A neglected one is a line item on every inspection report, and buyers notice.
Patrick's Advice: Three Days a Year
Spring for startup and leaks, summer for angles and the SAWS schedule, fall for draining before the freeze. Three short checks a year keep the system honest and the bill low. Do that and your irrigation will be a great one. Ask Patrick how to maintain your irrigation system.
Ask Patrick about irrigation maintenance
Get a straight answer on keeping your sprinklers efficient and following SAWS watering rules.
