Common Reasons Why You Have Standing Water in Your Yard

When it comes to maintaining your yard, one thing that you don’t want is standing water. The presence of standing water can lead to all sorts of issues, including erosion and potential foundation damage. Not to mention that standing water will attract mosquitos as well since they breed in standing water. As you can imagine, your outdoor area isn’t going to be very comfortable if you have to deal with a swarm of mosquitos. The following are some of the most common reasons why you might have standing water in your yard:

1. Your Home is Situated at the Bottom of a Downslope

If your house is at a low elevation and the landscape slopes up, it means water is going to run down to your home where it can cause serious damage to your foundation. This is often the result of poor grading (or a lack of grading) before the home was built. Simply elevating the foundation prior to construction could have helped provide proper slope away from the home. One solution is to grade around the home in order to create another place for the water to flow. You could also have a sub-surface drainage system installed.

2. Your Landscape’s Bed Layout Was Poorly Designed

The layout of your landscape design is vital to your property’s drainage capabilities. If the layout of your landscape wasn’t considered when the bed designs were implemented, they could end up impeding the natural flow of rainwater. As a result, rainwater won’t drain from your beds, which means that your plants are likely to drown as a result of heavy rainfall. Relocating your beds or additional grading may be needed to help provide the proper slope to your beds.

3. Your Paved Surfaces Don’t Have the Proper Slope

Your landscape’s soil isn’t the only thing that requires some thought with regards to its slope. Paved surfaces need to have the proper slope as well or they will collect large puddles, which can pose safety hazards and cause damage in the long run. Not to mention that without the proper slope, your paved surfaces could dump water into areas where it may cause damage, such as nearby plant life. Besides grading the area around your paved surfaces to improve drainage, you can also have retaining walls installed.

4. Your Gutter System Isn’t Doing its Job

Your gutter system’s sole job is to collect the rainwater that rolls down your roof and disperse it away from your home where it won’t cause any issues. If your gutter system is compromised (such as holes in the gutters or if the gutters have pulled away from the roof), water will drip down the side of your house, potentially collecting near the foundation. If you have standing water near your downspouts, it means that the downspouts weren’t properly installed. Having your gutter system inspected can ensure that it’s working properly.

5. Your Soil is Too Compact

You need to have porous soil so that water can soak through. If the soil is too hard and compact, water will just sit on top of it, resulting in large puddles all over your yard. This often occurs if you have clay soil. If this is the case, you’ll want to amend your soil by adding humus, sand, or other soil amendments.

These are five of the common reasons why you might have standing water in your yard. If you’re experiencing standing water in your yard, contact a landscape drainage contractor like Twin Oaks Landscape today.