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Kevin McBrayer

How to Fix Yard Drainage Issues


Having drainage problems in your yard can be a real nightmare. Throughout the year, we get our fair share of rain in Cumming, Ga. If your yard has low areas or was graded incorrectly, this can cause drainage problems that can wreak havoc on your landscape or even your home if water is running along your foundation and finding its way inside.

1. Ensure your gutter system is free of debris. You should have your gutter system cleaned at least once a year, after all the leaves have fallen. Clogged gutters and downspouts will allow water to overflow around your home's foundation.

2. Connect all downspouts around the home to a subsurface drainage system. The most common material used is 4" corrugated pipe. PVC may also be substituted, but it is more expensive and more difficult to work with. Depending on the size of the system and the amount of water it is designed to handle, 6" pipe or larger may be needed in parts of the yard drainage system. Pipes should terminate in an area away from the foundation and landscaping. This can be at a wood line or at the street by using a pop-up emitter.

3. Use catch basins to collect water at low spots. Catch basins are drain boxes buried below the grade to collect water at low spots in the yard. These can be connected to your downspout drainage system or on their own separate drainage system.

4. Create a dry creek bed to handle large areas of run off. These can also be installed in natural swales and in areas to prevent erosion. You can use a wide variety of rock materials to create your dry creek bed. It is recommended to use rocks at least 2" to 4" in diameter to keep them from washing area. Make sure to install landscape fabric underneath the rocks to keep them clean.

Yard drainage problems can sometimes be complex and a real hassle to solve. Once you understand the various ways you can fix your yard drainage problem, it will be time to design a solution to fix yours. A combination of the different methods above is sometimes needed to solve all the drainage problems in a yard. If you don't feel comortable fixing your draiange problem, it may be a good idea to reach out to a professional landscaping company that provides drainage solutions. Happy digging!


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