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Common Lawn Drainage Problems
Standing water, mushy areas and basement leaks are all signs that you have a yard-drainage issue. Check out the following list of common water problems and the drainage solutions that can correct them and help prevent further damage to your property.
Standing Water
Have you ever noticed water pooling in your yard after a heavy summer rainstorm or a few consecutive rainy days? If so, you probably have a lawn drainage problem. There are normally two main factors that contribute to the standing water: poor lawn slope and inadequate soil-drainage capability.
There are several methods to correct water pooling on your lawn:
Poor Lawn Slope
If your lawn isn’t graded properly to address sufficient water runoff, there’s a good chance it’ll lead to water problems like standing water and potential leaking into your basement area. If your home is situated at the bottom of a slope or hill, water runoff may direct towards your home’s foundation.
Properly regrading your lawn may be as simple as lowering the high areas and filling in the lower ones with a landscape rake. The correct slope away from your home is 2 to 3 inches every 10 feet. This may require a professional landscaper to achieve the correct results.
If water does leak into your basement, use a sump pump to remove the excess water.
Gutter and Downspout Runoff
Gutters and downspouts can also be the culprits of excess water in your yard. Clogged guttering, undersized downspouts and not properly diverting rainwater will lead to water gathering along your home’s foundation, patios and driveways.
Make sure that your gutters aren’t full of leaves and debris. It’s a good practice to have them cleaned at least twice a year, more often if you live in a wooded area. Adding a downspout extension will channel the rainwater further away from your home’s foundation. Splash blocks also improve the control of the downspout runoff.
Patio and Driveway
Incorrect slope and not having water channels can lead to excess water puddling around your patio or driveway. If you see standing water around the surface edges, you can install a trench or channel drain to help move the water along. Adding a decorative gravel edge or border will also help water drain away.
How Do I Install Lawn Drainage?
Your water-drainage problems can easily be helped by installing a drainage basin. This will take the standing water away, where it can flow into a storm drain or other collection area. Some things to consider before installing a drain line or channel are:
- Never place the outlet where it’ll simply move the drainage problem to a different area (especially someone else’s property).
- Contact your local authorities if you plan to connect your drain to any municipal, county or state drainage or runoff system.
- Contact your local authorities if you plan to connect your drain to any creek, stream or other body of water.
Before beginning any excavation, call 811 to check for underground utilities.
Installing the Drain
To properly move water along, your trench line must have the right amount of slope. A slope of at least 2% is needed to have sufficient water flow. This means that for every 50 feet of drain line, you need a drop of 1 foot from point A to point B. This slope goes for both pipe or gravel drain lines.