November 7, 2017

Standing water in your yard results from a heavy downpour when your home’s soil is compact in nature. Poor layering and grading of your yard soil may also cause the water to stagnate. Addressing this problem involves fixing the conditions that cause poor drainage. Depending on the cause and severity of the condition, you can fix the problem in various ways. This article explores a few options and tips to consider:

Install Underground Drain Pipe

Underground drain pipe works by diverting water run-off away from your home. This is effective, especially, when the flooding water comes from areas like the road and driveway.

The underground drain pipe allows you to redirect the run-off from such places to other areas of your home, including the garden and pond. Remember, this can also be a way of ensuring that the water does not go to waste.

Top Dress the Ground

This is one of the simplest and most appropriate methods you can apply when the standing water in your yard results from a shallow depression in which the rainwater collects. It involves evening out the low areas of your home by filling them with layers of soil.

The filing should be a process that lasts for several months to ensure that the soil is well compacted to prevent further sinking. To do this, you need to apply about half an inch soil layer to the depression at an interval of 8 to 12 weeks and continue until the ground becomes level. The layers should be made of dry soil, using a suitable tool like a shovel or spreader for even distribution.

Aerate Your Soil

Soil aeration is crucial, especially, when the soil around your house is compact. Compacted soil has poor perforation and does not allow water and air to pass through easily.

Fixing poor soil aeration involves breaking loose or perforating the topsoil in your home using an aerator. The loose soil has proper permeability, which is essential in combating stagnant water in your home.

Construct a French Drain

A French drain or curtain drain is a comprehensive drainage system that you can apply to prevent ponding water in your home. One good thing with this system is that you only need simple materials to construct it.

In this method, you direct the water away from your home by constructing a graded trench. Fill the trench with gravel to create gravity. The gravity channels the water into a perforated pipe, which is placed at the base of the trench.

Plant Wet Plants

Wet plants are those that absorb more of water, and they thrive in swampy conditions. If standing water in your home is due to a swampy environment, planting such trees helps mitigate the problem.

However, this is a long-term solution that takes time to produce results. The plants need time to grow.

In a nutshell, do not accept ponding water to rob you and your family of the enjoyment of your outdoor space. By knowing the cause of the stagnant water and applying appropriate methods to remove it, you can reclaim the beauty of your space.