Wet Spot in the Yard With No Rain

• An irrigation line, fitting or zone valve seeping continuously
• A break or seeping joint on the service line between the meter and the house
• A leaking hose bibb, backflow device or pool fill line
• Roof and gutter discharge concentrating water at one point
• A low spot with poor drainage holding water long after rain
• A failed drain line or septic component, usually accompanied by odor

Note whether the wetness persists through genuinely dry stretches, and whether it worsens after an irrigation cycle — timing separates irrigation from pressurized supply. Look for grass that is greener and growing faster in that patch, which suggests a steady water supply rather than trapped rainfall.

Then read the meter with the house valve closed and the irrigation supply off, and again with irrigation restored. Where the movement appears tells you which system to trace.

When meter movement continues with the house isolated, and the wet area sits somewhere along the plausible route of a buried line. A wet spot with no meter movement at all is more likely drainage or a drain-side issue.

The buried line is traced so listening happens along its actual route, acoustic readings narrow the escape point, and pressure isolation confirms the section. Then one small excavation replaces a trench dug on a hunch.