Get Better Outdoor Water Drainage

Standing water in your yard is a sign of poor drainage, and it’s likely that your yard isn’t the only area with drainage problems. Removing that water will be good for the grass, but it will also have benefits in protecting your home from potential floods.

Water pools when it has nowhere else to go. That can be trouble if large amounts of water fill up in the spaces directly around your house. A way to protect both your home’s foundation and the gardening that surrounds it is to extend your downspouts for better outdoor water drainage. This is a simple solution that allows you to find a lower area to help direct water away from the things that really matter.

While the downspouts are great for redirecting rain water, it cannot solve all your problems. Finding the right strategy for drainage requires a bit of planning, which includes mapping your property. Try to find the high and low spots to see if you can find a more direct route to allow water to flow away from your yard. 

Sometimes to get better drainage means doing a bit of landscaping. You can better utilize that water by creating a rain garden at a low spot in the lawn. A rain garden is an area in your yard designed to catch that water, and it is filled with plants that love water. It will be difficult to stop the puddling of water, but this environmentally friendly solution can turn an unsightly mud hole into a purposeful feature.

When you absolutely need to drain that water out of your yard and away from your home, a French drain can provide you with the right solution. The French drain is a versatile system that helps disperse water over a large area through a perforated pipe that is buried in the ground. A proper French drain does not require an outlet, but it will still help water soak into the soil and flow across a larger area.

Last, a dry well can catch and hold excess water while it then soaks into the ground. Dry wells are large holes filled with gravel or another aggregate, and can sometimes include a plastic barrel to help hold more water. This option requires a lot of digging, so you would want to contact a landscaper or contractor to help with your plan of attack.

Proper outdoor water drainage is essential for a healthier lawn, a flourishing garden, and a stronger house foundation. For more information on how to direct water away from your home, call the professionals at Sunrise Heating and Plumbing today at (616) 293-9326. We pride ourselves on providing nothing but exceptional customer service.