How to Choose the Right Landscape Drainage System: Stormwater Runoff Solutions

what about when then water table come up ??

Very informative. The Flo-well looks like an easier way to do an old-fashioned "dry well" to percolate water into the soil. I will try one of these on my new house. I have never noticed a pop-up emitter around here(SF Bay Area). It seems to be a good idea that helps conserve water, which is a big deal around here. It also keeps pollutants out of the streams. I will try one of these, too.

Videos can look easy and simple. My attempt to install drainage solution turned into anything but easy and simple. Builder made the driveway angle toward a bank and house lower than street. Rain creates a small lake; takes days to drain/dry. Looked simple to install a catch box and route the drain under the driveway. Cut across, dug the trench, but quickly realized that in order for the line to drain, it had to be deeper than the 12" catch box, a lot deeper. Kept testing and when water would finally run through the pipe the line was 14" deep and at the neighbor's property. So, a popup drain would not work. How is one to know? These EZ videos assume you have a large property and the angle of your property is always perfect. If you can afford it, get professional help.

awesome video it has touched on most of the problems with drainage , I have a sump pump that goes off every 30 minutes that when it empties the water into the yard there is so much of it it makes for a soggy yard, I was thinking of adding an easy drain French drain pipe in the ground under the grass but we have clay soil, is there a better way

Great video! I am looking at a home and it has a few drains that need to be fixed! I will definitely keep your company in mind for products.

Hi NDS,

I have a split level in CT on a fairly level lot. We have compacted silt soil (mostly clay). The downspout drainage system is currently clay tiles that run into dry wells. Some of the dry wells have collapsed, and some of the drain tiles have collapsed, so the drainage system is in need of repair. There is no french drain around the house.

There has been some water damage to the slab floor on the two story side of the house because of poor drainage by this side of the home. Over the years, water has made its way under the slab, frozen, and warped the concrete floor. The the water needs to get diverted away from this side of the house, and while I'm looking to do that, I think it would be a good time to update all of the drainage around the house. 

Just from my explanation, what type of drainage system would you lean towards? Downspout drains, or a french drain? I've heard that dry wells are not great solutions for the compacted silt/clay soil type that we have here. I'm also not sure that dry wells would be able to handle all of the runoff with the soil type in our area. Would I have to tie my storm drainage into the public storm drains on the street, costing big bucks?

Thanks, 

Kevin

Good point about debris being caught in gutters then pipe. Using a catch basin seems to me the best solution.

A housing development was built uphill from our home, and the developer did not install proper drainage.  As a result, our landscape takes on a large amount of runoff and we now have a "soggy lawn" issue during rainy season.  What would you recommend as an effective long-term solution?

I live on a hill and when it rains it seems to wssh away the seeds I put down for grass in the patches I have that have been created by the rain how can I redirect the water to the streets

I don't have any issues of water around my foundation, fortunately.  I have a cement path around the entire house next to the foundation and am thinking about putting down crushed stone over it to dress it up, at least in the front yard.  Will this create a problem?

It is always a good idea to install a Pop-Up Emitter, even if you have a Flo-Well or a traditional dry well system. The Pop-Up Emitter will provide a place for the water to go that is not absorbed into the ground. This can happen if the water entering the Flo-Well is greater than the storage capacity of the Flo-Well.

Yes you can and this is called a dry well. The only problem with a traditional dry well is that you only have up to 40% of the available storage because the gravel is taking up most of the space. The Flo-Well creates an open space in the ground that can hold 50 gallons. The Flo-Well is 2’ round by 2’ tall. To get the same 50 gallons in a gravel dry well, the hole would have to be 2’ round by 5.32’ deep. While both solutions work, we find the Flo-Well to be more efiicient.

YOU can make your own flo-well by digging 3 feet down and filling in with gravel, you dotn need that basin...good idea with the other basing though

u don't need one of you install a drywell, correct?

In order for a channel drain to be effective, the runoff water needs to drain towards the drain. If your driveway slopes towards the center, then the channel can be installed there to catch runoff water. Hope this was helpful.

I was thinking about that as well! Even going right up the center with a channel so water does not have far to travel on the surface, especially in winter.

Hi Cherie! Were you able to locate our products at Lowe's? If not, we also have some distributors near you that would also be able to help you out: Turf Care, Viking or Solutions Aquasol. I hope you are able to find what you are looking for and thanks for reaching out to us.

We're so glad to hear that you were able to solve your drainage problem! As for your driveway, a 12” x 12” catch basin is one possible solution to this problem. The drawback to using a catch basin is that the surface needs to be graded such that the water is directed to the catch basin. A channel drain is a long drain that is installed across the driveway to capture anything that flows towards the drain. It will collect water over a larger area and would be the better solution.

Just installed a spee-D basin and round cover to rectify a water pooling issue, problem solved! Thinking one of those 12 X 12? catch basins might be in order for the driveway when its time to re-pave.