How to Achieve Better Yard Drainage (page 2 of 3)

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Installing Dry Well

Here's how we solved our water problem.

Our situation is a low spot in the back yard. The only practical place to drain the puddle was along the garage and then into a downward-sloping hill toward the front yard. Instead of draining all the water to the front yard, however, we decided to install a dry well, which is merely a holding tank for a large water runoff. After a rain, it slowly drains itself (percolates) into the surrounding soil. We also connected a 4-in. perforated drain tube to the side of the dry well to help drain off and percolate overflow water. This tube rests on a bed of 3 to 4 in. of crushed rock or small river stone and slopes downhill (minimum 1/8 in. per foot) from the dry well. A sock sleeve made of a rot-resistant fabric is slid over the tube to filter out any small grains of soil that would otherwise eventually collect in and clog the tube.

Where the tube passes by the downspout from the gutter, we installed a Y-fitting and drained the roof water from the gutter system directly into the main drainage line. That line eventually emptied into the low spot in the back yard. Once all the parts of the drainage system were installed, we covered the tubes with several inches of rock. We then covered the rock with landscape filter fabric (black fabric that does the same thing as the sock) and finally tamped the soil to the surrounding grade over the rock and fabric. This meant digging, and lots of it! There's no magic number for the depth of your trench. Just figure that you'll need at least 3 in. of gravel under the 4-in. tube, 3 in. on top of the tube and about 6 in. of soil over that. Also, figure in whatever slope you need to get to the low spot.

Connect The Drain Tube
The dry well we used has a capacity of nearly 30 gallons. This unit can also be stacked on top of or alongside another if you need extra holding capacity. The dry well is very strong, and once you bury it, you can drive your car over it without breaking it. In fact, the dry well can be installed under a driveway. The drain inlet at the top is optional. You can also choose to: (1) drain water directly into the side port of the unit from a run of perforated or unperforated drain tubing, (2) link two or more dry well units together, or (3) use it independently with a top drain for small pooling areas.

Buying Everything For This Job
You can purchase snap-together tube in 10-ft. lengths as we did or buy a 50-ft. roll, which is difficult to transport. You'll find the tube is available in either perforated (1/2-in. holes randomly cut into the sides) or unperforated. Choose a perforated tube if you'd like it to drain as it carries water. However, if you only want the tube to deliver water from one spot to another, buy unperforated tubing and don't use a sock. The sock is typically sold in 100-ft. lengths. You can also buy a wide assortment of fittings to connect lines, as well as a fitting to attach to your downspout. We spent about $200 for our drainage parts and another $150 for 2 cu. yds. (54 cu. ft.) of crushed rock delivered to our driveway.

Before going to the home center, make sure you've got a good shovel, a string line and level, and a solid wheelbarrow. If you don't want a wheelbarrow hanging around your yard for the next 20 years, you can rent one for about $10 per day.