Author Topic: I need some advice on water drainage.  (Read 683 times)

Offline Fatty_McButterpants

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I need some advice on water drainage.
« on: July 01, 2023, 10:21:47 PM »
I needs some advice. I don’t know what’s going on with my back yard. For the vast majority of it, after a rain, the water soaks into the ground just fine. The area in question is about 60x75. I’ve got over 6 acres but this is the area right behind the house. It’s where a let my dogs go outside. I have several dogs. There’s no grass in this fenced in area anymore and they like to dig. Some of their work product, holes, will hold water indefinitely. Others will dry up quickly. Not all the holes are from their digging. There are a couple that are at the edge of the patio where the runoff from the roof hits. Leaves accumulate there in the Fall so there’s a good bit of organic matter in the soil there. But a few feet in either direction and there’s no issue with water not soaking into the ground. I can bail water from those holes and dump it into other holes my dogs have dug and it’s gone in a short time. I’ve tried digging out the mud holes that are at the edge of the patio. I figured I could get past the soil that won’t let the water pass then I could backfill with sand. I’m 12-14 inches down and it’s still holding water. I’ve thought about punching a hole with my auger once I get deep enough to confirm there’s no water line there. That hole by the patio is between the well and the house but it’s not along the path I’d expect the line to the house to run. But lines aren’t always run where you’d think they’d be. The holes that are not by the patio have only been dug in the last few months. They have a habit of digging new holes and filling in the old ones with the dirt that gets excavated from the new one.

I wanted to include some pictures but I seem to be having trouble with that.

I’m sure the collective knowledge of this group can shed some light on what’s happening here.

Thanks
« Last Edit: July 02, 2023, 10:20:14 AM by Fatty_McButterpants »

Offline TexasT

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Re: I need some advice on water drainage.
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2023, 09:39:12 AM »
Gravity is the biggest thing with drainage. If you don't have a slope, you generally get standing water. Some types of soil "drains" or "absorbs" better than others, and hard packed where there is traffic, even if it is only dogs won't absorb well. The heavier the precipitation, the more standing water you will have.

I guess this is to say, a slope to encourage run off is you best bet to prevent the standing water.
Rich

Offline geneg

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Re: I need some advice on water drainage.
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2023, 08:24:49 PM »
A couple of clarifications may help.  Not sure where you're located, but if there is clay in the soil-  or if the house has a basement,  The clay materials stripped for the housefootprint  or excavated from the basement may have been spread behind the house & covered with a thin layer of topsoil.  Clay composition materials do not perc (allow water to pass thru them).  Get a post hole digger & dig some holes of various depths.   Pour water in the holes & see how they drain.  This may tell you how deep the impervious layer is.  Also add a small amount of water to the soils that you remove from the test holes & roll up balls of it in your hands.  A firm smooth ball that holds its shape is probably clayish.   

Possible solutions are to turn the soil over with a moldboard plow, add top soil to the top of it & rototill it in, or have it stripped off and replaced with good organic soils.  Good luck

Offline TR

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Re: I need some advice on water drainage.
« Reply #3 on: July 18, 2023, 08:59:26 PM »
I agree with the drainage issue.I think a swale dug around the back of your house will divert the water away quickly.
It should around a 2% fall and about 3 ft wide in the bottom of the swale/ditch.

I fixed my neighbors wet basement issue with a swale around the back of his house....its rained and rained,no wet basement or standing water in his back yard now.

TR

Offline oldnslo

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Re: I need some advice on water drainage.
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2023, 10:23:40 PM »
Fatty, whats your prognosis and remedy to the situation you described?

Offline stokester

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Re: I need some advice on water drainage.
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2023, 08:57:54 PM »
I had the same basic issue with my back yard.

After signing a contract for a detached garage the footings were dug and promptly filled up with water because it is in a natural low spot in comparison with my neighbors on either side.  The natural water flow is from my property to my neighbors in the back and on to a drainage ditch.  My solution was to hire a backhoe to dig a trench, line it with landscaping fabric, run a perforated drainage pipe covered with a sock and fill the trench with rock.  While it was a lot of work it gives a path for the water to drain and allowed me to have a fine garage built.

So do some research on French drains and how they work, it may guide you to a solution.
Nick
Yorktown, VA

Offline Fatty_McButterpants

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Re: I need some advice on water drainage.
« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2023, 07:16:05 AM »
While I don’t understand why these holes hold water and others in my yard don’t, it occurred to me that I didn’t have this issue until my dogs dug these holes in this spot. Water will stand where water is able to collect. How long depends on other factors. So I filled in the holes and packed them as best I could. My boot will have to be good enough. The dogs haven’t dug the loose dirt out again. No more tiny ponds.

To answer some questions.

I have no basement.
I live near Brownsville, TN.
On average, the soil drains very well here. It drains so well that building code only requires a 1 acre minimum for a home site to support a septic system. But an hour south and you hit Mississippi red clay. I’m so glad I don’t live there.


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