# What to do about problematic standing water?



## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

So I have a natural low spot in my yard that fills up with water every year. I'm not talking just a couple inches - like 12-18+ inches of water over approx. 50x60ft area, making it unusable and unsightly for most of the year. 

I have been pumping it off in the spring and fall with a small utility pump and drain hose to a small little ditch I dug that connects to the swale on the east side of my property. In the summer it will dry out but most of the year it's soggy if not totally underwater. 

I'd like to try a couple different things, but wanted some feedback. 

The first was to dig a small detention pond to hold the majority of water. Probably something no more than 3-4' deep and approx. 30x30ft. This should be large enough to contain the water, as the depth is not uniformly 18" across. I have access to a large backhoe via my neighbor and can get after it in the spring/summer after it dries out at no cost to me other than my time and diesel fuel. 

The other option is to run french drains/drain pipe to the ditch at the road. I have estimated the cost of this to be over $1000 in drain pipe, pea gravel, and rental equipment alone, if not more. One of the big problems though is that the grade of the low area that holds water is below that of the road. By my calculations I would get less than 1" drop per 10ft of pipe over the 400ft length from the low spot to the road. I'm not positive there would be enough drop for it to drain freely. 

A third option is to try and connect the swale on the east side to the low spot, but that is tricky because of the grade of the land, plus there's a bunch of large pines directly east of the low spot and as the crow flies to the SE towards the swale. Would requires tearing out a lot stumps and trees. 

And finally a fourth option is just to forget about it and let it become overgrown with weeds. 

So, what would you do?


----------



## Tilden Hunter (Jun 14, 2018)

If the drain will work and is in budget, then that's what I would do. Otherwise option four.


----------



## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Also there is a fifth option which is to haul in several hundred yards of fill to bring the grade up in the area. But then the water just has to go somewhere else. At least it would distribute a little more evenly over the area if I did it this way. Though there's the problem of getting the dirt back there...


----------



## wpmisport (Feb 9, 2010)

Could be a good place for deep pond and plant some fish.


----------



## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

d_rek said:


> Also there is a fifth option which is to haul in several hundred yards of fill to bring the grade up in the area. But then the water just has to go somewhere else. At least it would distribute a little more evenly over the area if I did it this way. Though there's the problem of getting the dirt back there...


If you have a place for them to dump fill dirt a skidsteer can get it back there without a lot of damage. A pond may be a good idea but what would prevent that from filling up and then flooding over the way it does now or is the swamp lower


----------



## Scadsobees (Sep 21, 2006)

I'm not a civil engineer (I am a mostly uncivil programmer) but if that spot has water that often, isn't your septic in the water all the time? Or is this just pooling on the surface?


----------



## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Scout 2 said:


> If you have a place for them to dump fill dirt a skidsteer can get it back there without a lot of damage. A pond may be a good idea but what would prevent that from filling up and then flooding over the way it does now or is the swamp lower


Technically you have a clear shot with a single hauler dump to bring back 15 or so yards of dirt at a time. The problem is that it tears up the rest of the yard in doing so....

The swamp is lower at that spot then at the road. Exacerbated by the fact that the septic is well above grade and all of the landscaping around the house is pitched to shed water away from the house, along with the natural grade pitching toward the road. Think of a little bowl that's carved out in that wet spot. Here's a quick cross section:


----------



## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Scadsobees said:


> I'm not a civil engineer (I am a mostly uncivil programmer) but if that spot has water that often, isn't your septic in the water all the time? Or is this just pooling on the surface?


I attached another image to the previous reply.


----------



## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Why does the water not soak downward? Clay? Hardpan?
Depending on what is below and how deep layers are , sometimes a hole punched through the right layer can drain the above layer. Of course the opposite can happen with a high water table or spring or aquifer too!

Call Miss Dig before getting too ambitious if you get to digging. Surprises suck...

I favor a grade to drain.
Water needs a place to drain to though when planning a grading operation. Gravity fed and not letting it seek it's own level till far away. With consideration for that increased volume elsewhere. (Depending on neighbor , their basement may not be a good target.)

Slopes pretty much run two directions here. North and South , away from house.
Concrete drains East and South but is tied to the N. S. directions when greater volumes of run off are involved.


----------



## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Waif said:


> Why does the water not soak downward? Clay? Hardpan?
> Depending on what is below and how deep layers are , sometimes a hole punched through the right layer can drain the above layer. Of course the opposite can happen with a high water table or spring or aquifer too!
> 
> Call Miss Dig before getting too ambitious if you get to digging. Surprises suck...
> ...


Mostly red clay. Since we've been living here record rainfall has kept the clay at or near saturation point. Once it sponges up all the available water it just pools on the surface. That's why I was thinking a small detention pond just to keep the water in one place. The spot is pretty much holding as much water as it will throughout the year. It's been underwater since the end of the summer (record rain), froze over nicely, and now is a thawing mess. 

Not worried about excavating back there. It was vacant/raw land prior to building. Have had them out several times and no fear of anything back there other than roots and stones. 

When you say grade to drain you mean just cutting a swale or digging a trench to divert the water somewhere else? Like I said the grade is naturally pitched toward the road (south), but diverting it along the E or W property line to drain out is challenging. If I'm going to go through the effort of diverting the water elsewhere I want to make sure it's going somewhere I don't care about (ditch or in a small detention pond) and not say towards the back of the property where i'd like to possibly put in food plots or do something else with.


----------



## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

d_rek said:


> Technically you have a clear shot with a single hauler dump to bring back 15 or so yards of dirt at a time. The problem is that it tears up the rest of the yard in doing so....
> 
> The swamp is lower at that spot then at the road. Exacerbated by the fact that the septic is well above grade and all of the landscaping around the house is pitched to shed water away from the house, along with the natural grade pitching toward the road. Think of a little bowl that's carved out in that wet spot. Here's a quick cross section:
> 
> View attachment 370749


Do you own the land back to the swamp that you want to drain it into. If so take the backhoe and make a wide shallow trench deeper than the low spot. Taper the sides way back so you can mow it or not fall into it and this way it will blend in with the surrondings quicker


----------



## Sling (Aug 2, 2005)

d_rek said:


> Mostly red clay. Since we've been living here record rainfall has kept the clay at or near saturation point. Once it sponges up all the available water it just pools on the surface. That's why I was thinking a small detention pond just to keep the water in one place. The spot is pretty much holding as much water as it will throughout the year. It's been underwater since the end of the summer (record rain), froze over nicely, and now is a thawing mess.
> 
> Not worried about excavating back there. It was vacant/raw land prior to building. Have had them out several times and no fear of anything back there other than roots and stones.
> 
> When you say grade to drain you mean just cutting a swale or digging a trench to divert the water somewhere else? Like I said the grade is naturally pitched toward the road (south), but diverting it along the E or W property line to drain out is challenging. If I'm going to go through the effort of diverting the water elsewhere I want to make sure it's going somewhere I don't care about (ditch or in a small detention pond) and not say towards the back of the property where i'd like to possibly put in food plots or do something else with.


Maybe PARJANA.com


----------



## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Sling said:


> Maybe PARJANA.com


Looks expensive lol


----------



## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Scout 2 said:


> Do you own the land back to the swamp that you want to drain it into. If so take the backhoe and make a wide shallow trench deeper than the low spot. Taper the sides way back so you can mow it or not fall into it and this way it will blend in with the surrondings quicker


Yep it's all owned by me. But I like that. I would have to clear some brush and a few trees but it's mostly crap invasives. Wouldn't even care if it grew up over a couple years just don't want all that water to sit in one spot.


----------



## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

d_rek said:


> Yep it's all owned by me. But I like that. I would have to clear some brush and a few trees but it's mostly crap invasives. Wouldn't even care if it grew up over a couple years just don't want all that water to sit in one spot.


Thats what I would do then . If you make it wide and shallow it will blend in better and if you are like I am yoou won't fall in a deep trench full of mud some night after hunting


----------



## MossyHorns (Apr 14, 2011)

d_rek said:


> Yep it's all owned by me. But I like that. I would have to clear some brush and a few trees but it's mostly crap invasives. Wouldn't even care if it grew up over a couple years just don't want all that water to sit in one spot.


Most rental place rent mini excavators, which are small and easy to use. I rented one several years ago and I picked it up Saturday morning and returned it Monday morning and it only cost me around $250.


----------



## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Closest place rents them for about $200/day with a deposit. I had one for the weekend before and I think it ran me about $600. Trying to avoid renting anything because I have access to the backhoe.


----------



## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

A nice big Sugar Maple tree, or a few, will suck up 100's of gallons of water per day, if the ground is thawed enough for the roots to suck it up. That might be a long-term solution to your issue.


----------



## plugger (Aug 8, 2001)

This spot would be considered a wetland, anything that is wet for 7 or more days a year is considered a wetland. You will need a myriad of permits and environmental concerns will have to addressed.


----------



## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

plugger said:


> This spot would be considered a wetland, anything that is wet for 7 or more days a year is considered a wetland. You will need a myriad of permits and environmental concerns will have to addressed.


It didn't turn into a wetland until we built lol...

Initially there was kind of a natural swale that diverted water towards the SW corner of the land. I had walked the property before we built and it got a little soggy, but didn't hold water like it does now. Because of where we built and how we raised the grade water can no longer flow down to the corner. We didn't know it would flood that badly.


----------

