How To Discover Your Water Drainage Problems – Step One
Normal drainage problems start during a rain storm and can last for a few days afterward. They
usually fit one of these 3 memorably named categories:
1. Lake Downspout
2. Soggy Lawn Swamp
3. Rainy River
There is a 4th category that we won’t be tackling in this guide, the Eternal Wet Zone. This soggy
bit of landscape that never seems to dry up, even when it has not rained for weeks. It is probably
a spring, an area of unusually high water table, or a leaking water or sewer pipe. All of these
situations call for professional assistance. Don’t start digging into an area that may be a little
spring, or it is likely to become a BIG spring. Here is an article that will give you a little insight on
dealing with springs.
Installing a drain system yourself is probably going to involve some expense for plastic drain pipe
(still called drain tile by some – I’ll use both terms), much gravel, and a lot of digging. Before you
start spending you time and treasure, let’s figure out WHY your yard, lawn or garden has a drain
problem, and then we will figure out how to best FIX it. That means going out in the next rain storm
and getting a little wet.
Before the next rain storm you should do these few tasks. First, round up a dozen or two wooden
stakes, a hammer, a pencil or two, and a rain poncho or umbrella. Next make a sketch - on
something fairly water proof - of the portion of yard that has the drainage problem (I like to use a
scrap of plywood). Lastly check your gutters and downspouts – make sure they are not plugged
and that the downspouts are intact and located over the top of splash blocks if you have them.
You may want to have others in your household read this guide also so they can do the discovery
task for you if you are not home during the next big rain storm.
Shortly after the rain storm starts head outside and watch for the occurrence of our 3 memorably
named water drainage problems:
1. Lake Downspout
2. Soggy Lawn Swamp
3. Rainy River
The first drain problem to show up is usually Lake Downspout. Try to figure out why rain water is
building up near your gutter downspouts. Is the ground next to the house tilted back towards the
house so the water can’t flow away? Does the soggy downspout have a whole lot more water
coming out of it than other nearby gutter downspouts? Are there two gutter downspouts fairly near
each other with a lake between them? Mark the center of any Lake Downspout with a stake with
the number 1 written on it. Note if the soil is fairly soupy so the stake slides right in, or if it takes
firm steady pressure to push the stake in (clay) or if you have to hammer the stake through a hard
crust (surface compaction). Make notes on your plywood sketch of any clues you discover.
The next drainage problem to pop up is usually the Soggy Lawn Swamp, though in your yard it
may be better called the Soggy Garden Swamp, the Under Deck Flood, or some other soggy area
I’ll let you name. Slosh on out to the middle of each one and stick a stake in with the number 2
written on it. Again note how hard it is to push the stake in. Mark these places on your sketch and
then look around to try to find where the water is coming from. Is a Lake Downspout feeding your
swamp? Does the swamp show up as a broad low area in an otherwise flat lawn? Is your swamp
the pathways between raised garden beds? Or does it fill the area above or below a retaining
wall? Is your swamp backed up against your foundation wall? Is it stretched across a dip in your
driveway or along the edge of patio? Take lots of notes and mark all these areas with your #2
stakes.
After awhile it will be time for the Rainy River to start flowing (if you are unlucky enough to have
one). Sketch its path and mark it with stakes with 3 written on them, usually one at the river’s
beginning and one at its end. Again note how easy or hard it is to put the stakes in. Try to figure
out where the river originates and why it flows where it does. Does the river begin on your
property or your neighbors? What is feeding the river? Is it flowing across an area that causes any
problems for you? Is there a natural depression or swale that the river follows? Does it drain to a
ditch, the street, or just flow into another Soggy Lawn Swamp? If it flows into a Soggy Lawn Swamp
does the swamp keep growing or does it stay the same size? (in other words, can it handle the
extra flow?)
Wander around a little longer and see if anything changes much and if any other insights come to
mind. Then go inside, dry off, have a cup of coffee, and try to figure out how you are going to
explain your strange behavior to the neighbors.
Once the rain stops head back outside with your pencil and sketch. Take notes on which areas
soak in and disappear first. Normally the Lake Downspouts and the Rainy Rivers will soak in first,
and the Swamps will hang around the longest – but not always. Note on your sketch the places
that disappear quickly. Also mark the ones that are very slow to disappear like more than 8 hours.
This drain time information will be useful in setting priorities of which drainage problems to tackle
first.
So now you have information on where your drainage problems occur, some clues as to why they
occur, and information on how severe they are (the drain time information). In Step 2 of the Lawn,
Yard, and Garden Drainage Guide we will figure out How To Design a Drainage System to solve
these problems…
Normal drainage problems start during a rain storm and can last for a few days afterward. They
usually fit one of these 3 memorably named categories:
1. Lake Downspout
2. Soggy Lawn Swamp
3. Rainy River
There is a 4th category that we won’t be tackling in this guide, the Eternal Wet Zone. This soggy
bit of landscape that never seems to dry up, even when it has not rained for weeks. It is probably
a spring, an area of unusually high water table, or a leaking water or sewer pipe. All of these
situations call for professional assistance. Don’t start digging into an area that may be a little
spring, or it is likely to become a BIG spring. Here is an article that will give you a little insight on
dealing with springs.
Installing a drain system yourself is probably going to involve some expense for plastic drain pipe
(still called drain tile by some – I’ll use both terms), much gravel, and a lot of digging. Before you
start spending you time and treasure, let’s figure out WHY your yard, lawn or garden has a drain
problem, and then we will figure out how to best FIX it. That means going out in the next rain storm
and getting a little wet.
Before the next rain storm you should do these few tasks. First, round up a dozen or two wooden
stakes, a hammer, a pencil or two, and a rain poncho or umbrella. Next make a sketch - on
something fairly water proof - of the portion of yard that has the drainage problem (I like to use a
scrap of plywood). Lastly check your gutters and downspouts – make sure they are not plugged
and that the downspouts are intact and located over the top of splash blocks if you have them.
You may want to have others in your household read this guide also so they can do the discovery
task for you if you are not home during the next big rain storm.
Shortly after the rain storm starts head outside and watch for the occurrence of our 3 memorably
named water drainage problems:
1. Lake Downspout
2. Soggy Lawn Swamp
3. Rainy River
The first drain problem to show up is usually Lake Downspout. Try to figure out why rain water is
building up near your gutter downspouts. Is the ground next to the house tilted back towards the
house so the water can’t flow away? Does the soggy downspout have a whole lot more water
coming out of it than other nearby gutter downspouts? Are there two gutter downspouts fairly near
each other with a lake between them? Mark the center of any Lake Downspout with a stake with
the number 1 written on it. Note if the soil is fairly soupy so the stake slides right in, or if it takes
firm steady pressure to push the stake in (clay) or if you have to hammer the stake through a hard
crust (surface compaction). Make notes on your plywood sketch of any clues you discover.
The next drainage problem to pop up is usually the Soggy Lawn Swamp, though in your yard it
may be better called the Soggy Garden Swamp, the Under Deck Flood, or some other soggy area
I’ll let you name. Slosh on out to the middle of each one and stick a stake in with the number 2
written on it. Again note how hard it is to push the stake in. Mark these places on your sketch and
then look around to try to find where the water is coming from. Is a Lake Downspout feeding your
swamp? Does the swamp show up as a broad low area in an otherwise flat lawn? Is your swamp
the pathways between raised garden beds? Or does it fill the area above or below a retaining
wall? Is your swamp backed up against your foundation wall? Is it stretched across a dip in your
driveway or along the edge of patio? Take lots of notes and mark all these areas with your #2
stakes.
After awhile it will be time for the Rainy River to start flowing (if you are unlucky enough to have
one). Sketch its path and mark it with stakes with 3 written on them, usually one at the river’s
beginning and one at its end. Again note how easy or hard it is to put the stakes in. Try to figure
out where the river originates and why it flows where it does. Does the river begin on your
property or your neighbors? What is feeding the river? Is it flowing across an area that causes any
problems for you? Is there a natural depression or swale that the river follows? Does it drain to a
ditch, the street, or just flow into another Soggy Lawn Swamp? If it flows into a Soggy Lawn Swamp
does the swamp keep growing or does it stay the same size? (in other words, can it handle the
extra flow?)
Wander around a little longer and see if anything changes much and if any other insights come to
mind. Then go inside, dry off, have a cup of coffee, and try to figure out how you are going to
explain your strange behavior to the neighbors.
Once the rain stops head back outside with your pencil and sketch. Take notes on which areas
soak in and disappear first. Normally the Lake Downspouts and the Rainy Rivers will soak in first,
and the Swamps will hang around the longest – but not always. Note on your sketch the places
that disappear quickly. Also mark the ones that are very slow to disappear like more than 8 hours.
This drain time information will be useful in setting priorities of which drainage problems to tackle
first.
So now you have information on where your drainage problems occur, some clues as to why they
occur, and information on how severe they are (the drain time information). In Step 2 of the Lawn,
Yard, and Garden Drainage Guide we will figure out How To Design a Drainage System to solve
these problems…
| Step 1: Lawn, Yard, and Garden Drainage + French Drain Installation Guide In this Guide you will find information on: • How to design, build, and install a drain system • French drain system building guide • Installation of plastic drainage pipe and tile • How to install a drywell to drain rain water • Avoid having a soggy lawn, garden or yard |
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| Follow the steps linked below correct most home and yard drainage problems... |
| Do you have a soggy lawn? Are your garden plants drowning in rain water? Do you get big puddles in your yard that take days to dry up? The Lawn, Yard, and Garden Drainage Guide can help! |
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and the new Best Drying Rack.
Please visit our websites to see how
we can make your chores easier and
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