[oblvnnwtnjhn]

Wrapping up siding/trim repair/repaint, installed gutters. North Alabama has gotten quite a bit of rainfall within a short period of time the last part of 2019 until present. My backyard is turning to look like soup, I have a few areas where the water is pooling, low spots.

My neighbor has done extensive landscaping, pavers etc and wondering if that is causing some of my issues. You can see the remnants of an old ditch that slopes to the street, I am seeing it fill with soil during heavy rains.

I am on the fence whether to have it graded or install a series of french drains. Looking for some feedback and ideas.

 

[Old Thomas]

Most local governments prohibit changing grade so it pushes water on an adjacent property. Also, siltation and erosion controls are supposed to be used when adjusting grade. Did your neighbor cause your problem? Do you have a place to send water? Do you like your neighbor?

 

[oblvnnwtnjhn]

Most local governments prohibit changing grade so it pushes water on an adjacent property. Also, siltation and erosion controls are supposed to be used when adjusting grade. Did your neighbor cause your problem? Do you have a place to send water? Do you like your neighbor?

lol, yes, they're great neighbors. I have an alley behind me which has drainage ditches on either side and the entire neighborhood was designed with a slope as it's old river bottom. So I can safely discharge in three places from the back yard.

I'm leaning towards a catch basin in a few areas, piping, drain pipes w/socks, aggregate etc to make it work and visually pleasing.

 

[oblvnnwtnjhn]

Short video of a design I am considering:

 

[SeniorSitizen]

French drains were never intended to solve a water problem of that severity. Surface drainage is your best solution.

 

[oblvnnwtnjhn]

French drains were never intended to solve a water problem of that severity. Surface drainage is your best solution.

What do you suggest then? I have approximately 3 areas where it pools up, I need to move that obviously. So a series of basins/french drains won't suffice to carry the water to the sloped area of my yard?

 

[SeniorSitizen]

What do you suggest then? I have approximately 3 areas where it pools up, I need to move that obviously. So a series of basins/french drains won't suffice to carry the water to the sloped area of my yard?

Basins and french drains will work as long as the drainage from those has enough slope to drain away after they fill in just a few minutes of a downpour. The yard needs surface drainage to even come close to being able to drain heavy rains. You may need an engineer to suggest how much slope for those areas and which way to drain to keep neighbors happy.

 

[AllanJ]

Surface drainage works better than a French drain for water that originates on the surface or above.

When you have a French drain underground, you need to get the water back to the surface at the far end to discharge.

When y ou have big puddles here and there on the lawn then you need to regrade the land so the water doesn't stay in those places.

 

[oblvnnwtnjhn]

Basins and french drains will work as long as the drainage from those has enough slope to drain away after they fill in just a few minutes of a downpour. The yard needs surface drainage to even come close to being able to drain heavy rains. You may need an engineer to suggest how much slope for those areas and which way to drain to keep neighbors happy.

I have slope towards the outer edges, to me it looks like my neighbors upgrades aggravated my middle yard area, I've lost some soil and have 3 low pooling areas now. I don't think I have an utilities in this area, awaiting 811 to confirm, so I can slope the trenches to get the water to take its path of least resistance.

My grandfather in law has a nice Ford tractor with the needed attachments and I have access to soil. He's also a home builder so I am sure he can offer the experience and manage me on the job.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

As we may expect different soils require different slope/grade for drainage. What i've done, in my younger days, with a Pick / mattock of all tools, is to construct a narrow trench to test the approximate slope needed. Our soil is somewhat sandy and it never ceases to amaze me how much more slope it needs to drain as opposed to where a brother lives with heavy clay.

 

[oblvnnwtnjhn]

As we may expect different soils require different slope/grade for drainage. What i've done, in my younger days, with a Pick / mattock of all tools, is to construct a narrow trench to test the approximate slope needed. Our soil is somewhat sandy and it never ceases to amaze me how much more slope it needs to drain as opposed to where a brother lives with heavy clay.

It definitely appears to my eye to slop towards the street.

 

[3onthetree]

When the ground is fully saturated you'll notice those spots. If it's just these few low spots within the larger grade that is already sloping down towards the front and back streets, then just fill in those spots level with grade (could be settled spots of trees long gone). If you don't have problems otherwise and want to alleviate the saturation of the yard in general, then a french drain to daylight will help that.

A catch basin is used as a collecting point for water to distribute it to another point. A drywell is used as a collecting point for water and "leaks" it out over time right there. In this instance, you don't need either one.

If you've got a big blue Ford with a bucket, that'll be hard to finish grade, but you can at least bring in the soil for a rough and have some fun.

 

[Old Thomas]

Good neighbors, leave them alone. For a few ponding spots I would put in some yard drains piped to the alley. I would get a stake out and then start digging.

 

[oblvnnwtnjhn]

thanks for the feedback gents. I will fill the low areas and see how that goes. Here's a rough draft of my design, the garage area definitely has to be done and easily drains to the side ditch. The blue circles are 6" catch basins with hard line, red is combination of hardline and perforated to pick up water to carry to the ditch.

The black line is a french drain that goes with the slope to a pop up (green circle) to discharge on the curb to the surface drain built into the side street.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

For water to pool in the area like post #11 depicts, the surface from there to the street is slightly elevated above that pooling area. Pull the soil from down slope back into the low pooling area. BUT, if too much is filled in there it will cause another pool area just up- stream of the now low area. It appears to me the slope that's there now is very borderline and care must be taken to improve anything and that soil from below the pooling location may may have to be taken back to nearer to the building. That's another critical location as not to get it too high around the structures.

 

[AllanJ]

Does the black French drain already exist underground?

Would the water flow on the surface to the green spot along the black line without an underground pipe?

Will water flow on the surfacefrom the blue oval along the red line but straight behind the garage instead of making the two right angle bends?

Oh, by the way, could you point out the remnants of the old ditch? I did not see that.