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Irrigation services

Irrigation companies do five distinct things: design and install new systems, audit and tune existing ones, repair broken heads, valves and wiring, install and program controllers, and open and close systems seasonally. Installation is priced by zone — LatestCost puts a typical zone at about $350, with a range of roughly $200 to $700 including heads, valve, wiring and basic trenching. An audit is the cheapest service and often the highest value, because EPA WaterSense estimates about 50 percent of the water used for residential outdoor irrigation is wasted through overwatering and inefficiency.

The most common mistake is buying installation when you needed an audit. A system that waters unevenly, floods one corner and browns another usually has fixable problems — tilted heads, mismatched nozzles in one zone, a stuck valve, a controller programmed by someone who has since moved away. Replacing it is enormously more expensive than correcting it.

There is a real certification you can look for. EPA WaterSense maintains a directory of professionals who have completed a WaterSense labeled certification program in irrigation system audit, installation and maintenance, or design, searchable by ZIP code. It isn't a guarantee, but it's a verifiable credential rather than a logo a company printed itself.

Repairs are where costs quietly accumulate. LatestCost puts ongoing upkeep at roughly $50 to $150 per zone per year and labor at about $60 to $120 an hour. A broken head is worth fixing immediately for its own sake: EPA WaterSense estimates a single broken sprinkler head can waste up to 25,000 gallons of water and $280 over a six-month irrigation season.

Ask any company how they'll verify their own work. A good irrigation contractor runs each zone in front of you at the end of the job, shows head-to-head coverage, and hands over a zone map and the controller program in writing. If nobody walks the yard with the system running, nothing has been verified.

How to choose

Get an audit before you get a redesign
Uneven watering is far more often a tuning problem than a system-replacement problem. An audit costs a fraction of an install.
Check the WaterSense professional directory
EPA's directory lists pros who completed a WaterSense labeled certification, searchable by ZIP and by certification type.
Ask for a zone map
A drawing of what each zone covers, plus the programmed schedule, should be part of every install and audit. Without it, the next contractor starts from scratch.
Price by zone, not by lump sum
Zones are the unit of irrigation work. Per-zone pricing makes two bids comparable and makes scope changes honest.
Fix broken heads immediately
WaterSense estimates a single broken head can waste up to 25,000 gallons and $280 across a six-month season. Repairs pay for themselves fast.
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All irrigation services

FAQ

Irrigation services — common questions

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Running every zone, checking head-to-head coverage, measuring output, finding leaks and stuck valves, checking pressure, and reprogramming the controller for your plants and soil. It's the highest-value service most systems never get.
LatestCost puts installation at roughly $200–$700 per zone with an average near $350, including heads, valve, wiring and basic trenching. Ongoing maintenance runs about $50–$150 per zone per year.
Start with EPA's WaterSense directory of certified professionals, then verify licensing with your state or local authority and ask for a zone map from a recent job.
Usually yes. Heads, nozzles, valves and controllers are all replaceable, and pipe in the ground is the expensive part you already own. Full replacement is a last resort, not a first quote.
Sources

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