When it comes to water leaks, there are two kinds: the obvious and the obscured. The obvious leaks are the ones that you can physically see, like drips from a faucet or unexplained water near a fixture or wall. Then there are the obscured leaks. Those are the ones that show up as a high water bill, a sound in the wall, or a wet spot in the yard. The obscured or “not so obvious” leaks are where the DCV comes into play and why it must be functioning. The worst-case scenario is that you have a slab leak under the house. But to determine this we must be able to isolate the house from the irrigation system and then from the yard line. So, the DCV must be in good working order to be able to remove the irrigation system from the equation. For the most part, there are four types of water leaks that involve the DCV and/or are common in the yard. Three of those are the responsibility of a licensed plumber and one is for the licensed irrigator or homeowner, depending upon the complexity.