Drainage solutions

3 years ago

We get a lot of run off from the neighborhood . We got many ideas from landscapers - change grade , French drain, dry well etc. none of them seem feasible to address the large amount of runoff . Any ideas ? This is how the yard looks, rain renders it unusable for few days.

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3onthetree

3 years ago

There's an edict in business, "do one thing and do it well." So probably when someone who only installs corrugated french drains and drywells comes to your house, that will be their solution. If they do mostly landscaping, they will probably suggest grading. So keep that in mind.

Grading should always be the first choice, let nature do its work and no manufactured systems to worry about. If that is still insufficient, then you turn to human inventions.

Usually problems like this is a combination of poor grading, concentrated runoff from your house, and taking too much water from the neighbors.

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Comments (10)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
3 years ago
A swale directing runoff to a raingarden perhaps?

Honestly, it is virtually impossible to make meaningful suggestions about drainage issues remotely :-) This is an issue that needs to be addressed onsite and by a soil hydrologist or someone familiar with soils and runoff and drainage requirements specific to your area. And it is not a DYI project unless you fill those qualifications yourself!
rr3k29
Original Author
3 years ago
Agreed, though most of the professionals we have asked for opinions seem to have a different opinion even after seeing the area. I dont want to spend the money without it being half a solution if not a complete solution.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
3 years ago
Just make sure the professionals you ask opinions of are properly qualified to give them :-) May not cover all the landscape contractors you might have asked, as soil hydrology and drainage is a rather specialized field.

Check with the municipal authorities in your area that deal with drainage and directing storm water and run off as to who they might suggest.
3onthetree
3 years ago
How do you determine that grade changes and french drains will not accomplish the goal?

You have your water to address (where does it go now?). You also have your grading to address (I see some low spots). Other things (patio flooded, is the mulch too high?). You have immediate neighbor's runoff to address - is it legal or are they exacerbating your situation? You have the surrounding neighborhood's grade elevations to address - where does the water ultimately go?
rr3k29
Original Author
3 years ago
1) where would the French drain drain to ? Would the high amount of sediment in the runoff block the drain pipe in the long run ?

2 ) contractor who said grading talked about grading the entire yard - not very feasible

3 ) patio and buildings are not affected only the yard

4) water currently pools in the yard till it evaporates

immediate neighbours don’t have a yard , we have a common driveway and they face the same problem .
3onthetree
3 years ago
1. Any piping is best served by draining to daylight. Determining grade elevations of you and your neighbors will determine if that can be done. Piping would be wrapped in a filter fabric to limit sediment. Some will always enter, but there are ways to make it a non-issue.

2. The grade needs to slope away from the house towards the lowest perimeter area (or create a strategic low spot within the yard), or towards the low spot of the neighborhood that existed prior to any structures. If it doesn't, you will not solve your issue. Even "flat" soccer fields have a sloped crown. Grading is very feasible with skid steers and/or fill.

3. Somewhat separate than yard flooding but I see standing water on the patio in the pic - shouldn't have that. The "building" (your gutters and sump) do affect the yard drainage though.

4. Water soaks into the ground faster than it can evaporate.

x. The shared driveway could be exacerbating your problem if they have no ground to soak up their water, so dumping it on hardscape could be entering your property.

I am really not sure where this is headed, you seem to be fighting against something, whether money, trust, or physics. You have to figure out the problems and what is causing them. The solution is quite simple, water flows downhill. Detailing those solutions may be intrusive and sometimes complicated, but necessary.
rr3k29
Original Author
3 years ago
since every company who has come out to look at the issue has a different solution to the problem , I have a hard time trusting the solution . If I heard one solution mentioned more than once I would go with it , but being that I’m not a drainage expert , and clearly this is complex enough to warrant so many responses from different companies some of whom claim to be drainage experts , I posted it on here to get some input .
shivece
3 years ago
Unfortunately it is difficult to help in this forum without more information because you need to identify the reason why the water is collecting in your yard and not running off, out of multiple possibilities. Your best bet is to hire a soils scientist or hydrogeologist to identify the cause of the issue and the best solution. Once the actual cause is identified, the most economical solution (or partial solution/betterment) will be more obvious. All of the multiple suggestions probably have the potential to at help the situation, but the underlying cause is the key to determining if it can be economically fixed or substantially bettered. For example, if an underlying layer of clay or bedrock is causing or contributing to the issue, simple grading or drains may not be a viable solution.
Sigrid
3 years ago
Those were the kind of questions you should ask the contractors.