Repair service · Leak detection
Sprinkler leak detection & repair
Underground leaks announce themselves sideways — a water bill that jumped, a strip of turf that never dries, one zone gone mysteriously weak. We find the break by instrument and isolation, open one neat square over it, and fix it flat-rate under a Texas irrigator's license.
Located by instrument, not exploratory digging · You approve the flat price before any work begins
Texas Licensed Irrigator — LI0026061Required by Texas law for sprinkler repair. Ask any company for theirs.
Request sprinkler service
Describe the problem — we'll call back with an arrival window, usually same day.
Leak services
Found by method, not by shovel
Every leak call is two jobs: finding it, then fixing it. The finding is where experience pays — and where the lawn gets spared.
Lateral line leaks
Pressurized only while the zone runs — the weekend-fixable kind. Our DIY guide covers the splice; we cover the finding.
Main line leaks
Pressurized 24/7 from the backflow to the valves — losing water around the clock. Priority calls, isolated at the source.
High water bill diagnosis
The meter says leak, the lawn says nothing. We isolate irrigation from the house, then zone by zone, until the number confesses.
Leaks under driveways & walks
We bore under hardscape rather than cut it — the repair should never cost more than the concrete.
Valve box & manifold leaks
Water in the box has three causes with three prices. We pump it dry and watch where it returns from before quoting.
Slab-edge & foundation-side leaks
Leaks near the foundation get urgency and care — and often a drip-zone conversation, since steady moisture there should be by design.
Lateral, main, PVC or poly — we carry telescoping repair couplings, compression fittings, and barb-and-clamp poly repairs for every pipe we open, and every splice is pressure-tested before a single shovel of backfill goes in.
Diagnosis guide
Six ways a leak announces itself
Underground leaks rarely show you water. They show you one of these.
The water bill jumped
The classic tell — Blackland clay swallows slow leaks for months until the meter talks. We isolate irrigation from household use first, so you know which system is guilty before anyone digs.
A soggy strip that never dries
Water follows the trench line and surfaces where it can — sometimes ten feet from the break. The squish marks the territory; the instruments mark the spot.
One stripe greener than the rest
A slow leak is an accidental drip line: the grass above it thrives while the zone around it starves. Free fertilizer, expensive water.
A whole zone went weak
Heads downstream of a break lose pressure while upstream heads run strong — the break sits between the last strong head and the first weak one. That bracketing is half our method.
Hissing or a spinning meter with the system off
Main-line territory: pressurized around the clock, leaking around the clock. Kill the isolation valve at the backflow and call — this one doesn’t wait for the weekend.
Water pooling at the lowest head every morning
Often not a leak at all — low-head drainage emptying the zone’s pipes through the lowest head. A check-valve fix. We’d rather tell you that than sell a dig.
Flat-rate pricing
Flat-rate leak repair pricing
Every repair is a flat rate quoted before work begins — never hourly, never a running meter while someone digs. The service call covers a full zone-by-zone diagnosis and applies to your repair, so diagnosis is effectively free when we do the work.
| Repair | Flat rate | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Service call & leak diagnosis | $[XX] | Zone-by-zone isolation and pressure testing until the leak is bracketed. Applied to your repair. |
| Lateral line repair | from $[XXX] | Located, excavated in one neat square, spliced with a telescoping coupling, pressure-tested. |
| Main line repair | $[XXX]–$[XXX] | Priority scheduling — isolated at the backflow, repaired and proven under full pressure. |
| Bore under hardscape | quoted flat, after locate | Under walks and drives without cutting concrete. |
| High-bill investigation | $[XX] | Irrigation isolated from household use, verdict in writing — applied to any repair we make. |
Your flat rate depends on depth, access, and parts — but once quoted, it does not move. You approve the number before a shovel touches dirt. Full breakdown with examples on our sprinkler repair cost guide.
Local knowledge
Why North Texas pipe leaks — clay and roots
Two patient forces break almost every buried line in our territory. Knowing which one is working on your yard tells us where to look.
Expansive clay — the seasonal handshake
Blackland Prairie clay swells when wet and shrinks hard in drought, and that movement works buried PVC like a slow pair of hands — shearing it at the tees and elbows where the pipe can’t flex. It’s why leaks cluster at fittings, spike at the end of dry summers, and repeat in yards that have broken before. The older systems of Plano and Richardson have survived forty of these cycles; the boom-era lines in Frisco are just hitting the age where the cycles win.
A run that’s failed at multiple points isn’t unlucky — it’s finished. We’ll show you the repair math against a reroute before patch number four.
Tree roots — the slow crush
Roots rarely pierce irrigation pipe; they displace and crush it over years, and they win every time. The mature live oaks of Preston Hollow and the eighty-year-old canopies of Lakewood sit over the most root-damaged lines we see — which is also why excavation discipline matters most exactly there. We route digs to respect root zones; the trees are the property value.
Where a line crosses a root field that will only grow, the durable fix is a reroute around it — quoted flat, next to the patch price, your call.
Method
How we find a leak without wrecking the lawn
Exploratory digging is what you pay a leak specialist to avoid. The method is isolation, bracketing, and instruments — in that order.
The locate — four moves
| Step | What it tells us |
|---|---|
| Isolate irrigation at the backflow | House or sprinkler system? The meter answers in two minutes. |
| Zone-by-zone pressure test | The guilty zone drops pressure; the innocent ones hold it. |
| Bracket between heads | Strong heads upstream, weak downstream — the break sits between them. |
| Probe & confirm | Saturated soil takes the probe easily; we open one square exactly there. |
Then the splice itself: cut square past the cracks, telescoping coupling, primer and cement, full cure, pressure test — and only then backfill. Burying an unproven splice is how the same hole gets dug twice. The DIY version of the whole sequence is in our broken line guide.
Where leaks meet the ordinance
In Frisco, failure to repair a controllable leak — broken pipes included — is a year-round violation with photo enforcement and fines from $100. Richardson prohibits operating a poorly maintained system; runoff and ponding draw citations across our cities. A known leak in this territory isn’t just a water bill problem — it’s a compliance clock.
Every leak repair ends pressure-tested and proven, with the controller checked against your city’s watering schedule while we’re there. A full sprinkler inspection catches the next leak while it’s still cheap.
Your specialist
Meet Jonathan, your irrigation specialist
Eldorado isn't a call center dispatching whoever's available — when you call, you're talking to the licensed irrigator who shows up. Jonathan has been locating North Texas leaks by isolation and instrument since 2013, holds Texas irrigator license LI0026061, and works out of east Plano — in the middle of the oldest, leakiest pipe in Collin County.
His rule on every job is the one customers keep repeating in reviews: fix only what's broken. You get a zone-by-zone diagnosis, a flat price before work starts, and an honest answer when something doesn't need replacing.
The visit
How a repair visit works
No mystery invoices. The price is on the table before a shovel touches dirt.
Call & describe
Tell us the symptom — the bill, the soggy strip, the weak zone. If it's hissing with the system off, we'll walk you through killing the isolation valve while you're on the phone.
Zone-by-zone diagnosis
We isolate, pressure-test, and bracket until the leak is located — the digging happens after the finding, never instead of it.
Flat quote, your call
You get the exact price before any work begins. The service call fee is applied to the repair.
Repair & prove it
We splice it, pressure-test under full flow with you watching, and only then backfill — and the turf plug goes back where it came from.
Field record
Recent leak work
Real jobs, our own photos — valve boxes, manifolds, trench lines, and the lawns after.
Reviews
What our customers say
"Many charge outrageous fees and try and upsell. Eldorado doesn't do that. Pleasant, responsive and most importantly, honest... 5 star and will be my go-to sprinkler guys."
"Came out same day and took care of business at an unbelievable price. Took about 30 minutes to diagnose and repair. Would absolutely utilize again."
"They gave me options and fixed only what needed to be fixed. They are honest good people that do good work."
Questions
Leak repair, asked & answered
How do you find an underground sprinkler leak without digging up the yard?
Isolation and bracketing: we shut the irrigation off at the backflow to confirm which system is leaking, pressure-test zone by zone to find the guilty zone, then bracket the break between the last strong head and the first weak one and confirm with a soil probe. The excavation is one neat square over the break — the digging happens after the finding.
How much does sprinkler leak repair cost?
Lateral line repairs start at $[XXX] located, spliced, and pressure-tested; main line repairs run $[XXX]–$[XXX] with priority scheduling; bores under hardscape are quoted flat after the locate. The $[XX] diagnosis is applied to your repair, and you approve the exact number before a shovel touches dirt. Full breakdown on our sprinkler repair cost guide.
My water bill doubled but I can’t see any leak — now what?
That's the most common leak call we get: Blackland clay swallows slow leaks for months. We isolate irrigation from household use at the meter first — so you know which system is guilty — then pressure-test zone by zone until the number confesses. The verdict comes in writing either way.
What’s the difference between a lateral leak and a main line leak?
A lateral is only pressurized while its zone runs — it leaks a few hours a week and can wait for the weekend. The main line is pressurized 24/7 from the backflow to the valves: it leaks around the clock, can undermine slabs and walks, and is the one to shut down now. If you hear hissing or see the meter spin with the system off, kill the isolation valve at your backflow and call.
The leak is under my driveway — do you have to cut the concrete?
Almost never. We bore under walks and driveways and sleeve the new line through, which costs a fraction of cutting and repouring concrete. The locate has to be precise first — which is exactly why we find before we dig.
Why does my yard keep breaking pipes in the same area?
Either the clay or a root field is working that run, and patch number four is rarely the economical move. We'll quote the repair and the reroute side by side — moving the line around the root zone or re-bedding it where the clay shears it — and show you the five-year math.
Is a green stripe in my lawn really a leak?
Usually, yes — a slow leak is an accidental drip line, and the grass directly above it thrives while the rest of the zone starves. It reads as good luck and bills as bad luck. The stripe also happens to be a map: it usually traces the pipe run for us.
Water pools at my lowest head after every run — is that a leak?
Often not: low-head drainage empties the zone's pipes through the lowest head after shutoff, especially on slopes. Check-valve head bodies at the low positions stop it permanently. It's a five-minute diagnosis, and we'd rather rule out a dig than sell one.
Is an unrepaired leak actually a code violation?
In parts of our territory, yes. Frisco enforces year-round — with photo documentation — against failure to repair a controllable leak, broken pipes included, with fines starting at $100. Richardson prohibits operating a poorly maintained system, and runoff or ponding draws citations across our cities. The leak has a compliance clock, not just a meter.
Does leak repair in Texas require a licensed irrigator?
For paid work, yes — Texas law requires a TCEQ irrigator or technician license for anyone repairing irrigation for compensation. Eldorado is owned and operated by a Texas Licensed Irrigator, LI0026061.
Can I repair a broken sprinkler line myself?
A located lateral break is a fair DIY job — telescoping coupling, primer and cement, patience on the cure — and we published our full sequence, including the finding method. Main lines, leaks you can't surface, and anything under hardscape are where the pros earn it. See our DIY broken sprinkler line guide.
How long does a leak repair take?
Once located, most lateral splices are under two hours including the cure and pressure test; main line repairs usually run a half day. The locate itself is typically within the diagnostic visit — and the flat quote with timing comes before any digging.
Do you offer same-day leak repair?
Same-day or next-day for most calls, and active main-line leaks move to the front of the schedule — they're costing you water by the hour. Call (469) 970-2715 and describe the symptom; we'll give you an honest arrival window.
What areas do you cover for leak detection?
Everything within about 30 minutes of our east Plano shop: Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Richardson, Dallas, and North Dallas.
Service area
Leak repair available across North DFW
Licensed repair within about 30 minutes of our east Plano shop:
Searching “sprinkler leak repair near me” over a water bill that doubled? Our east Plano shop puts a licensed irrigator — with locate instruments and repair fittings on the truck — within about 30 minutes of all of Collin County and North Dallas.
Leak trails that end at the hardware? See sprinkler valve repair for weeping valves and flooded boxes, or try the locate yourself with our DIY broken line guide.
Bill spiked? Strip won’t dry?
Main-line leaks cost money by the hour — call and we’ll isolate it today.