Spring is coming, and so is irrigation season. But before you flip that controller back on and let the water flow, there’s work to do.

An irrigation system that sat dormant all winter doesn’t just wake up ready to perform. Freezing temperatures, shifting soil, and months of inactivity take their toll. Skipping the pre-season checklist doesn’t just risk broken equipment — it wastes water, drives up costs, and leaves landscapes looking worse than if you’d done nothing at all.

Here’s what needs to happen before the first zone turns on.

Inspect the Backflow Preventer

Start with the backflow preventer. This device keeps irrigation water from contaminating your drinking water supply, and most municipalities require annual testing and certification.

Check for visible damage — cracks, corrosion, leaks. If the unit was winterized properly, the test cocks should have been left open and drained. Close them before turning the water back on. If you’re required to have the backflow tested by a certified technician, schedule that now before the spring rush makes appointments scarce.

A failed backflow test isn’t just an inconvenience. It can shut down your entire system until repairs are made, and in some areas, it means fines.

Turn On the Water Slowly

When it’s time to restore water to the system, do it gradually. Opening the main valve all at once sends a surge of pressure through pipes that may have weakened over winter. Cracks that were dormant can turn into full breaks under sudden pressure.

Open the valve slowly — a quarter turn at a time — and listen. You’re listening for hissing, which means a leak. You’re listening for rattling, which means a loose fitting. Let the system pressurize gently, and walk the property looking for wet spots, geysers, or water pooling where it shouldn’t be.

Catching a broken pipe or fitting now, before the system is fully activated, saves thousands of gallons of water and prevents the kind of erosion that turns a small problem into a big one.

Walk Every Zone

Once the system is pressurized, run each zone manually and walk it. Every single one. This isn’t optional.

Look for broken or misaligned sprinkler heads. Winter frost heave pushes heads out of position. Lawn equipment knocks them over. Settling soil changes spray patterns. A head that was fine in October might be shooting water onto the sidewalk in April.

Check for clogged nozzles. Dirt, debris, and mineral deposits block flow. A clogged nozzle creates dry spots and makes the rest of the system work harder to compensate — wasting water in some areas while leaving others underwatered.

Look at coverage. Landscapes change. Plants grow. Hardscapes get added. A zone that had perfect coverage last year might have blind spots now. Adjust head positions, swap nozzles if necessary, and make sure water is going where it’s supposed to go.

Test the Controller

Controllers don’t hibernate well. Batteries die. Settings reset. Programs vanish. If your controller lost power over the winter or if the backup battery is old, the schedule you set last fall might be gone.

Check the date and time. A controller running on the wrong time will water at the wrong time, which in some municipalities means fines for watering during restricted hours.

Review the watering schedule. Spring watering needs are not the same as summer watering needs. If your controller is still set for August heat, you’re going to overwater. Adjust run times, frequency, and start times based on current conditions — not last season’s peak demand.

If you have a smart controller, reconnect it to WiFi if needed, check for firmware updates, and verify that weather-based adjustments are enabled. A smart controller that isn’t pulling current weather data is just an expensive timer.

Check Valves and Wiring

Valves fail. Solenoids stick. Wiring corrodes. If a zone isn’t turning on or won’t shut off, the valve is the usual suspect.

Open valve boxes and inspect for standing water, which indicates a leak or drainage problem. Check wire connections for corrosion or damage. Test each valve manually to make sure it opens and closes cleanly.

A valve that won’t close is an expensive problem. It runs constantly, floods the zone, and racks up a water bill that nobody notices until the invoice arrives.

Inspect Drip Systems Separately

Drip irrigation requires its own inspection. Emitters clog more easily than spray heads. Tubing gets chewed by rodents, crushed by foot traffic, or damaged by landscaping work.

Flush the lines before turning the system on. Run water through the system with the end caps off to clear any debris that accumulated over winter. Then replace the caps, turn on the zones, and check each emitter. A clogged emitter means a dead plant, and you won’t know it’s clogged until the plant is already stressed.

Check filters. Drip systems rely on clean water, and a clogged filter reduces pressure and flow to the entire system.

Don’t Rush the Process

Spring startup isn’t a five-minute job. It takes time to do it right. Skipping steps doesn’t save time — it creates problems that take longer to fix and cost more to repair.

A system that starts the season correctly runs efficiently all summer. A system that gets rushed into service wastes water, misses coverage, and fails when you need it most.

Do the work now. Your water bill, your landscape, and your equipment will all be better for it.