Flooding in backyard is a big problem especially in areas where heavy rainfall is the norm. Many people find this to be a hopeless situation to find themselves in.
What if we were to tell you that you can drain a flooded yard all by yourself?
Yes, these solutions take time and effort but with the tips and tricks in this expert guide, you can prevent flooding in yard in no time at all!
JUMP TO TOPIC
How To Fix Yard Flooding? Methods That Work
Stopping the water flow, checking your gutters, and regrading your yard are some of the most effective ways to fix yard flooding.
There are a lot of ways to drain a flooded yard and prevent water from collecting into it again. A lot of these methods will need your full commitment and time.
Continue reading to learn in detail what these methods are.
– Stop the Flow of Water
The first thing you need to do in order to fix a flooded backyard is to thoroughly check your property and see where the excess water is coming from. Oftentimes, flooding happens simply because water is not being drained properly from your house. Fixing your drainage would most probably solve half of your flooding problems.
– Check Your Gutters
Check your rain gutters to see if they are blocked. Ideally, you should clean your gutters regularly twice a year. The spring and the fall season are the best time to do this.
– Check Your Downspouts
A downspout or a drainpipe is a pipe attached to the gutter and the side of your house. The main purpose of this pipe is to carry water from the rain gutter to the ground. A good and properly installed drainpipe prevents water from splashing onto the building structure or collecting on the ground.
One major reason why backyard flooding occurs is when the downspouts are too short. Attach at least a 3-foot extension to it and direct water away from the yard and the foundation of your house.
– Check Your Sump Pump
A lot of houses have sump pumps built into them with the main purpose of preventing water from collecting in the basement. Constantly check your sump pump to see where it is draining the water. If needed, attach an extension to it and redirect this water away from your yard.
– Regrade Your Yard
If your backyard slopes downwards and towards the house, then it will definitely continue to be flooded every time it rains heavily. Regrading such a yard will keep your yard from flooding again.
According to experts, the ideal minimum slope of your lawn should be 2 to 3 inches every 10 feet away from the foundation. This makes it about 2 percent of the minimum slope, whereas the maximum slope should be 12 inches every 4 feet or approximately 25 percent.
– Make Use of a Rain Barrel
Large-sized barrels that are placed under the downspouts during a downpour are called rain barrels. These can be placed under the drain pipes in case of heavy rainfall to collect all the water that would otherwise flood your lawn.
If your area receives a lot of rainfall and the problem of a flooded yard is a chronic one, then we suggest buying a rain barrel that collects at least several 50 gallons of water. Make sure the barrels are placed somewhere accessible so you can easily put them under the drain pipes when the rain starts to fall.
These barrels should be placed on a flat surface so they don’t tip over when full. The water that is collected in them can then be used for a variety of purposes. We always use this water for watering our plants several days after the rain.
– Add Mulch to Your Yard
Did you know that mulching can be an effective way to prevent flooding in yard?
Read below to learn how to employ mulching to your advantage when it comes to fixing this issue.
- Take a thick layer of approximately 3 to 4 inches of mulching materials and add it on top of your soil all around the garden.
- This mulch will help maintain the integrity of your soil, but its main purpose, in this case, is to absorb as much water as possible. This will prevent water from accumulating into a flood.
- You can use all types of organic mulching materials such as wood chips, grass clippings or even pieces of cardboard or bark.
- Just take care that the layer of mulch is not in contact with the walls of your home. The constantly moist mulch will rot away the walls of your home. A minimum distance of 6 inches from the walls is a must.
– Dig a French Drain
French drains are most suitable for yards with a single problematic low spot where water always seems to collect.
Dig a trench in these low spots to direct the accumulated water elsewhere. Keep in mind that you will often need to dig pretty deep to make these french drains.
– Make a Rain Garden
The low spots in your yard where water usually collects can be turned into lush, natural rain gardens. Learn how to make a successful rain garden in this section.
-
How To Create a Rain Garden
In order to direct water towards the low spots in your yard, your yard should have an average slope of about 2 percent. Choose a good location for making the rain garden. This will be a spot where water from all over the yard and the house such as drainpipes and driveway will collect.
Make sure that this spot is situated at least 10 feet away from your house. Otherwise, this collection of water will back up or saturate the soil close to your house. This could potentially be damaging to the structural integrity of your house in the long term.
Also ensure that this garden is not located over a septic tank, utility tank or any other municipal water collecting system. You should have your local utilities checked by municipal authorities beforehand.
Now fill this tank with porous soil and plants that thrive in flooded conditions. Our personal favorites are Japanese silver grass and certain species of ferns.
– Buy a Dry Well
You can get rid of flooding in backyard by installing one or more dry wells in it. These work best in a yard in which water is absorbed within one to four hours into the ground.
Identify the low spots in your garden where water collects first. Dig some soil out of these low spots and install the dry well there. This will collect the water, store it and then slowly release it into the soil over time.
These dry wells can also be placed in the water draining locations of the drain pipes. The gate of the tank is usually left above ground so you can continue to check the water level in the well as you like.
– Dig a Curtain Well
This is another one of our favorite methods because of how simple it is. You can also drain a flooded yard using curtain wells. These are simply pipes with holes in them that are installed all over your yard and direct water from areas where water collects to other areas.
These pipes are surrounded by a layer of gravel and dirt to make them more accessible when the need arises for repair and maintenance. Many people think that curtain drains are the same as french drains. However, french drains deal with water at a deeper level underground than curtain wells.
– Seek Professional Help
Sometimes the problem with your backyard might be a bit too complicated to correct by yourself. If you are stuck in a seemingly hopeless situation where nothing possibly seems to work, don’t worry. There are professionals out there who can work this out for you.
Look up online to see which companies in your area offer services in preventing and draining backyard flooding. You can hire them at very reasonable prices, and it will definitely save up a lot of your time and effort as well.
Reasons Why Your Backyard Might Be Flooded
Tired of having your yard flood every time it rains or snows heavily? Is the drainage around your home so poor that it is affecting the house’s very foundation?
Find out why this problem occurs before you solve it so you can make sure it doesn’t happen again.
– Heavy Rainfall and Snow
One of the principal causes of backyard flooding is heavy precipitation. One season of heavy rainfall and your yard will start looking like a swamp if not drained adequately.
Winters with particularly heavy snowfalls can also lead to this problem. When a large amount of snow collected on your property eventually melts, it creates a drainage and flooding problem.
– House Built on a Downslope
Heavy and constant rainfall can especially become a problem for those who live on an angled plane instead of on a flat surface.
A house at the bottom of the hill will obviously face a lot of drainage problems. Water will run downhill and collect in its backyard. It is also more difficult to drain a flooded yard that is located downhill.
– Lawn Not Graded Properly
Grading refers to how leveled or angular a particular surface is. Is it a very important aspect of building a house with a yard and sadly one that is often overlooked.
If the angulation of your lawn isn’t optimal enough, water will not drain from it. Instead, it will collect in the yard and create a flooding situation. Make sure your lawn is suitably graded.
– Poor Quality of the Soil
Your soil could be the reason why your yard keeps getting flooded. Certain soils don’t have the ability to absorb water as rapidly as it is needed. One such example is clay, the particles of which clump together, not allowing the water to completely drain through.
Make sure that the soil in your lawn is porous enough to drain an adequate volume of water. Any soil with more organic content or sand will fulfill this requirement. As an organic component, you can also add more compost and peat to your lawn.
Regrading Your Lawn
First of all, obtain a digging permit from your local authorities, then mark all the underground utility lines, pipes, cables, etc. around your yard to prevent them from sustaining damage.
Assess the current grading of your lawn and plan the future one. Mark the boundary of your lawn and start digging about eight inches deep into the soil all around it.
Now take this soil and spread it on the lawn to create a downwards slope of at least 2 percent away from the foundation of the house. Smoothen this newly-planted soil with a rake and plant some grass in it as well.