Wet spots and puddles in the yard can be unattractive and kind of annoying. If the grass is stuck under the water for too long, it ends up dying and can make your yard look bad. Wet grass is something the homeowner is not able to mow over and no one wants to worry about mud and dirt getting tracked into their home.
When the problem area starts to creep its way to the home, there is the potential for the water to seep into the basement, which can cause a mess like a toilet not flushing and even cause some dangerous issues with mold.
The best way to deal with this problem is to use yard drainage solutions: French drains, stainless steel trench drains, dry wells etc. Some of the things that you can do to help improve the drainage system on your property include:
1. Extend the Downspout
For many homeowners, if you have some landscaping that is near the home, it turns into a collection pool for any standing water. Adding an extension to the downspout that is already there, helping it become longer, is a good way to solve this problem.
Start by doing a survey around the situation to learn where the water is coming from. The problem may be simple, such as discharge from the sump pump or the downspout drainage that collects there. As you make it longer, you may need to redirect the downspout as well or run the pipe for the sump pump into a new direction.
2. Install Drainage Pipes Underground
Making sure that you are able to drain away any excess water through an underground drainage pipe can be an effective way to solve some of the water properties around your home. Underground pipes for drainage are made out of vitrified clay, concrete, and UPVC so it is strong and will last for a long time.
To make sure that this solution is viable, you need to make sure that there is a slope downward in the yard. You will need to dig a trench for the pipe, which is often the logistical hard part. You need this gradually sloping trench to lead straight from the source of the water to the outlet.
In addition to doing this, a plastic catch basin is going to be buried at the source. It will then have a connection to the discharge with a PVC drainpipe.
3. Install a French Drain
Another solution that you can consider is a French drain. This will provide you with a good way to improve the drainage on your property and it actually works well for more than one type of drainage issue.
A French drain is essentially going to be a trench that will contain a perforated pipe that you can then surround with some gravel. This drain will make it possible for the water to disperse over a large amount of land, as the water will soak into the earth, away from the property, and along the pipe that you put there.
This does take a bit of time to put together. You may want to work with a professional to help you see results and keep the water away. It can prevent needing drainage at the end or any collection because the water slowly moves along the land instead.
4. Create a Dry Well
A dry well is just a big hole that is filled in with some gravel and it could be one method that you use to remove water from the property, as long as the property is big enough to support this. The dry well is going to hold the excess water as it seeps into the ground.
If you put this one into the property, it is going to be placed in the lowest part of the yard, where your runoff water is the most likely to collect. If possible, you need to have the dry well a minimum of 12 feet from the home to make sure it does not collect too close to the home.
To stop the downspout runoff from making a big groove in the yard and making sure that it doesn’t ruin the yard, you can install a swale, which is simply a trench that is filled with gravel. A French drain is a good solution for this as well.
5. Use a Rain Garden
Depending on the space that is in your yard, you can also use a rain garden to take care of the excess rain. Look at the. Yard and figure out if there is a spot in the yard that tends to collect the rainwater when it falls. You can take advantage of this spot by creating your own rain garden.
To keep it simple, a rain garden is just going to be a depressed area in your landscape that will have shrubs, perennials, and flowers and it is designed to hold and soak in rainwater runoff when it happens. It won’t necessarily solve the problem of water in your yard but helps to turn it from a puddle of a mess into a beautiful garden.
The trick to having a successful rain garden is to choose the plants that will flourish in a lot of water. Cardinal flower, swamp milkweed, and turtlehead plants are good options to add here.
Choosing the Right Drainage System
When it comes to water sitting around your home, it is time to move the water and keep the home safe. This will help the lawn look nice and will keep all of the water out of the basement to avoid a mess and some mold. The right solution for your needs will depend on your property and where the water is coming from.
Dealing with sitting water around the property is never a good idea. Make sure that you try out a few of the options above to see what drainage system is going to work well for your property to keep the water far away.
Dealing with sitting water around the property is never a good idea. Make sure that you try out a few of the options above to see what drainage system is going to work well for your property to keep the water far away and if nothing else works, get a good water softener.
