Home Home & Garden 4 Common Yard Drainage Issues And How To Fix Them

4 Common Yard Drainage Issues And How To Fix Them

by Tracy Finke

Being a homeowner means constantly having to worry about every little and every significant thing relating to your property and land. As the head of the family it is your duty and responsibility to make sure that everything is working as intended, that you and your family are living comfortably, and that problems and issues are solved on time before things get worse.

Of course, this is much easier said than those especially with certain aspects of owning property that always cause stress and worries. Luckily, you are not the first person to solve issues in and around your home. There are existing practices and solutions for every single thing that can befall you and your loved ones, and it is only a matter of how fast you identify them and how well you manage to fix them.

Dealing With Water

In this article we are focusing on a single area of home care, that of yard drainage. Yards come in all shapes and sizes. They can be open backyards with lots of land, small and narrow areas enough for only a few things, they can be in front on the house.

If you live in the countryside, your yard stretches as far as your property and it can cover most of the farm or ranch. However, one thing is the same with all of these open surfaces of land. They have to be able to deal with excess water the right way. Otherwise, you will not have a good time doing anything on your property and even your home may be put in danger.

Crucial Part of Property Care

Drainage has been invented for a reason. It is crucial for the prevention of so many issues. Worst of all, drainage problems themselves come from many sides and can show up out of nowhere. In the following sections we talk about the most common yard drainage issues and how to fix them.

You should get on it quickly especially if you live in a wet and humid area, or a place that experiences a lot of rainfall during the year. The water has to have somewhere to go, ideally away from your home and the surrounding facilities.

Read on to find about more about this. In the likely scenario that you eventually need help from the professionals, especially if you live in North Carolina and around High Point, make sure to check out Piedmont Site Works.

1. Short Downspout

Source: mastershield.com

If your gutter system is inefficient, it can clearly be seen whenever there is a heavier rain. The standing water in the immediate area of your home is a clear sign of your downspout being too short. To effectively deal with this, simple extend the downspout further away from the house, ideally on a decline. This will lead the water away and there will never again be standing water just around the home.

Digging trenches or taking similar drastic measures are not really necessary. Take a step back, allow one or two rainy days to do their thing, and figure out where your downspout extension needs to go. Redirecting it and making it longer will improve the drainage and make the water flow to a different location where it will not remain on the surface.

2. Creek Beds

Source: presentablelandscape.com

Are you into landscaping a bit? Would you like a touch of breathtaking nature and magic in your backyard? Well, you can have it with a little bit of extra effort. Not only will your yard look better but your drainage will be greatly enhanced too. Making a creek bed solves a lot of drainage problems, from standing water to using the extra water for a meaningful cause.

Building one to direct the water away from low spots or whatever else you want protected is an effective and pretty way to do things. This is also a good way to make slopes if your property is completely flat. Water does not cooperate well with flat surfaces and it tends to sit atop of it for long.

To prevent this, make a creek bed slope and it will help you redirect the water away. Start off with a shallow drainage ditch, line it with gravel and stones, ad in a few boulders, plants, and decorations like bridges or garden gnomes, and voila! It can look truly amazing and turn your garden into a magical forest spring straight out of a fairy tale.

3. Rain Gardens

Source: watsonsupplyinc.com

Rain gardens are exactly what their name implies, gardens that are being kept alive and watered mostly with the help of rain water. They are perfect for larger low spots in your yard that always seems to retain water. If you make a garden on top of it, you will make it more level and less of a low spot, but also give the excess water a meaningful purpose.

The rain will be coming down your home and the surrounding slopes straight into the garden where it will be watering and nurturing the plant life. Fill the low spot with plants that adore water and do not mind getting soaked. The area will still be soggy at times, but it will look much better than having a huge puddle or a muddy hole in your yard.

Besides, the root system will make the low spot less and less so over the years. There are many ways to make a rain garden. You can use stones and gravel to direct water into it, or install an underground or over ground downspout that will lead all the way from the gutters and into the rain garden.

4. Underground Drainage Pipeline

Source: thespruce.com

Speaking of going underground, you can always install a pipeline that would start from wherever there is a regular water buildup on the low end of your property and finish far away. If you do not want any of the water remaining on your property, think of having PVC drainpipes running underground and leading all the unnecessary water elsewhere, to the closest sewage outlet or a place that desperately needs more water. This is a common solution for areas that experience a lot of rain and where the people do not want any of the water remaining on the surface for long.