| You are welcome to use this article on your | | | | The highest point is going to be the area |
| website or in your newsletter as long as you | | | | that you are trying to drain, so you only |
| reprint it as is, including the contact | | | | want your pipe deep enough at this point so |
| information at the end. Website URLs must be | | | | it can be covered with soil. Once the trench |
| active links. You are welcome to use this | | | | is dug just lay the pipe in. At the highest |
| article with an affiliate link, | | | | end of the pipe you'll need to insert a |
| | | | strainer into the end of the pipe to keep |
| Do you have one or more areas in your yard | | | | soil from entering the pipe. Cover the pipe |
| that hold water after a rainfall? This is a | | | | with some washed stone, and then backfill the |
| common problem, and sometimes difficult to | | | | trench with soil. The washed stone creates a |
| solve. Over the years I've talked with dozens | | | | void around the pipe so that the water can |
| of people trying to battle this problem, and | | | | find its way into the pipe. |
| on several occasions I have been hired to | | | | |
| solve the problem. So what can be done? | | | | Washed stone is usually inexpensive stone |
| | | | that has been washed so it is clean and free |
| | | | of mud. The only part of the pipe that needs |
| | | | to be exposed is the low end, where the water |
| Too often people come to me asking what kind | | | | exits the pipe. Do not put a strainer in that |
| of a tree, or what kind of shrubs can be | | | | end. |
| planted in a wet area to dry it up. This is | | | | |
| the wrong approach. Most plants, and I mean | | | | |
| almost all plants are not going to survive in | | | | |
| an area where the soil is soggy for extended | | | | If you do not have anywhere that you can |
| periods of time. The roots need to breathe, | | | | drain the water to, you still might be able |
| and planting a tree or shrub in a water area | | | | to do something. But first consider what is |
| will kill it. | | | | happening, and why the water is standing |
| | | | where it is. Even if you have well drained |
| | | | soil, water cannot soak in fast enough during |
| | | | periods of heavy rain, and it runs across the |
| Another common approach is to try and fill | | | | top of the ground and eventually finds the |
| the area with topsoil. Depending on a variety | | | | lowest point, and either leaves the property, |
| of variables, this can work, but many times | | | | or gets trapped. |
| adding additional soil to a wet area will | | | | |
| only shift the water to another area just a | | | | |
| few feet away. | | | | |
| | | | If you have well drained soil, the trapped |
| | | | water usually soaks in. If you have heavy |
| | | | clay soil, the water lays there, and the soil |
| If you are lucky enough to have some natural | | | | underneath becomes very compacted, and the |
| fall to your property, or a drainage ditch | | | | problem compounds itself. The more water that |
| nearby, this problem is easy enough to solve. | | | | stands, the worse the drainage gets. |
| If you happen to live in an area that was | | | | |
| developed over the past few years, there | | | | What I have done in areas like this, where |
| might even be a system to remove storm water | | | | there is standing water, but nowhere to drain |
| nearby. In many new home developments I've | | | | it to, is to install a French drain system |
| seen stormwater catch basins already | | | | that actually carries the water away from the |
| installed in backyards. Trust me, this is a | | | | low area, and allows it to seep into the |
| good thing. There is nothing worse than | | | | ground over a larger distance, where the soil |
| having a soggy yard all the time. | | | | is not quite so compacted. To install this |
| | | | French drain system you do everything exactly |
| | | | as explained above, except instead of |
| | | | draining the water to a lower area, you can |
| If you are fortunate to have some fall to | | | | send it in any direction you like. Even in |
| your yard, or a stormwater system that you | | | | the direction from which it came, which is |
| can drain water into, this problem is easy to | | | | uphill. |
| solve. Make sure you check with your local | | | | |
| officials before you do anything at all with | | | | |
| a storm drain. | | | | |
| | | | When installing this type of system, it's a |
| All you have to do is go to your local | | | | good idea to dig a number of shorter |
| building supply center and buy some 4" | | | | trenches, all heading away from the area |
| perforated plastic drain pipe. The best kind | | | | where the water stands. Using the line level, |
| for this purpose is the flexible kind that | | | | make sure your trenches fall away from their |
| comes in 100' rolls. This type of drain pipe | | | | point of origin so once the water enters the |
| has small slits all around the pipe. These | | | | pipes it will flow away from the wet spot. |
| slits allow water to enter the pipe so it can | | | | What is going to happen is that during times |
| be carried away. | | | | of heavy rain the low area is still going to |
| | | | trap water, but much of that water is going |
| | | | to seep into the drain pipes and eventually |
| | | | leach into the soil under each trench. |
| Just dig a trench from the center of the low | | | | |
| area you are trying to drain, to the point | | | | |
| that you intend to drain it to. Using a | | | | |
| simple line level you can set up a string | | | | Because this soil has not been compacted by |
| over top of the trench to make sure that your | | | | the standing water and the baking sun, it |
| pipe runs downhill all the way. A line level | | | | will accept the water. It won't happen nearly |
| is a very small level that is designed to | | | | as fast as if you could just drain the water |
| attach to a string. Any hardware stores sells | | | | to a ditch, but at least you will have a |
| them for just a couple of dollars. Set the | | | | mechanism in place that will eventually |
| string up so it is level, then measure from | | | | disperse the water back into the soil. It's a |
| the string to the bottom of your trench to | | | | lot easier to leach 200 gallons of water into |
| make sure you have constant fall. You should | | | | a series of trenches that total 100 lineal |
| have 6" fall for every 100' of pipe. | | | | feet, than it is to expect that water to |
| | | | leach into a 10' by 10' area that is hard and |
| | | | compact. |
| | | | |