Put in French drain, works great, need advice

[corn18]

Our house is the third lot downhill from the main road. All the water from the first two houses flows through our backyard and then into the two neighbors downhill from me. The yard has always been soggy, especially after a night of thunderstorms like we had last night.

So I dug a trench and put in a french drain. I also dug a 6 ft diameter, 2 ft deep collection basin on the downhill end to keep from swamping my neighbor even worse than they had it before.

This morning, after getting 1.5" of rain last night, the yard was in great shape and the collection basin was full. I haven't filled it with rock yet. So I got out my submersible water pump and started pumping the water in the basin up into the woods. Took about 30 minutes to empty it. Then it filled up again. Then I drained it. Then it filled up again. So far, I am on the 8th shot at getting all the water out so I can put in the fabric and fill it with stone.

Good news is with all the water going in the french drain and the basin and then pumped into the woods, my yard is not soggy at all.

My question is should I just let the drain and basin do their thing or should I investigate installing a pump in the basin? Maybe I should just let it be after the next big rain and see how the basin does.

Appreciate your thoughts.

 

[Jerry1]

Can you run a drain from the pit out to the woods? Not to install a pump, but just as a gravity drain.

 

[corn18]

Can you run a drain from the pit out to the woods? Not to install a pump, but just as a gravity drain.

It's about 2 ft up hill from the basin to the woods. That would be a deep trench and then how do I terminate it? It will be 4 ft underground.

 

[MC Rider]

All I know is you don't want to give your neighbors a bigger problem with the water.

 

[corn18]

All I know is you don't want to give your neighbors a bigger problem with the water.

Agree. The french drain and basin make it better for them. Before, the water would flow through the middle of my backyard as a fast flowing stream and then just get bigger and faster as it flowed through the neighbor's back yards. Now my french drain captures it all and the basin slows it all down. Still the same volume of water going down hill but now just an overflow from the basin vs. a high speed river.

What my immediate neighbor should do is continue my french drain and tie it into the last neighbor's yard. The last neighbor feeds their french drain into a storm drain. That would eliminate at least the floods for our three back yards.

 

[SnowballCamper]

What is the outlet for the basin if you don't pump it out? If you fill it with rock, it holds that much less water... Seems like a sump pump in the basin might be a good idea...

 

[MC Rider]

What my immediate neighbor should do is continue my french drain and tie it into the last neighbor's yard. The last neighbor feeds their french drain into a storm drain. That would eliminate at least the floods for our three back yards.

Sounds like as good plan. Which is on them.

 

[corn18]

What is the outlet for the basin if you don't pump it out? If you fill it with rock, it holds that much less water... Seems like a sump pump in the basin might be a good idea...

The water overflows the basin and proceeds further downhill into the neighbor's yard. But at least it isn't a fast flowing river like it was before.

 

[RobbieB]

Time to talk with your neighbors eh?

 

[corn18]

Time to talk with your neighbors eh?

I did. They are thinking about it because their back yard has a wash running through it like ours did.

 

[RobbieB]

Cool. Sounds like they are onboard. You won't have to worry about pumping out the basin.

 

[skyking1]

when you say the woods, is that your property too?

 

[Bamaman]

After we installed our new pool 2 years ago, my neighbor couldn't figure out where water in his back yard was coming from.

When I backfilled the filter, the water went out a pipe--and as we know water flows downhill (to his house.) I also have an automatic pump to get the water from underneath my pool after heavy rains. I finally put a 50' hose out the back of the property to an empty field.

If you do use a sump pump, you might want to use one that cuts on and off automatically. I'm eventually going to install pipes underground when I landscape to keep any water out of the neighbor's yard.

 

[Ronstar]

If the basin doesn’t drain on its own now, how will it drain after you install the rock in it? I don’t think that the yard will dry up by adding rock to the basin.

Without seeing it, it’s tough to say what the best solution is, but I suspect that your water problem would be lessened if the downstream neighbors made some drainage improvements.

I would be looking for a solution that doesn’t involve pumping.

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, gravity (with a little help) is always best.

 

[NgineER]

You might need to dig a deeper basin, dig a small hole to see if it drains before digging the whole pit deeper. You’ll need to get below the clay layer if you have clay soil

I did this at a former house of mine and it worked beautifully.

 

[corn18]

Well, I got up this morning and not only is the basin full, it is overflowing.

When I dug the trench with the backhoe last week, it hadn't rained for a few days but the ground was still a little soggy. I started at the high end and had no water in the trench. When I got about 30 ft through the 100 ft, it started filling up with water. By the time I got to the end and was digging the big basin, it was full of water. I'm starting to think the basin will never be dry.

I will pump it out today so I can at least get the fabric laid and some stone in. Then I will leave it set and see if it dries out some. It isn't supposed to rain for the next 10 days.

 

[NameTaken2]

You installed a french drain that collects water from two uphill houses, but runs to a catch basin with no effluent.
The second of two downhill houses has a french drain directing effluent to a storm drain.
You have identified the only solution that makes sense:

What my immediate neighbor should do is continue my french drain and tie it into the last neighbor's yard. The last neighbor feeds their french drain into a storm drain. That would eliminate at least the floods for our three back yards.

Hope your neighbor makes the right decision after thinking about it!
Good luck!

 

[eytonxav]

Sounds to me like all the neighbor both up hill and down hill from you should collaborate on a solution, unless the development originally planned for water flows from lot to lot.

 

[skyking1]

back to my question, are the woods part of your property? if so, you may be able to divert that water laterally. if you get through the clay or impervious layer over there with a big dry well, the water might go away.
I've done that many times. Sometimes it takes a bigger machine.

 

[corn18]

Sounds to me like all the neighbor both up hill and down hill from you should collaborate on a solution, unless the development originally planned for water flows from lot to lot.

We were here when they first started building and the flow is exactly as the developer meant for it. It is really good at keeping the water away from the houses, which is great. And they only cleared the first 40 ft of the back yard and that drains ok. We have all cleared the extra 50 ft back to our property line and that reveals the perfect swale that directs all the water down hill into the storm drain. But now instead of being behind our back yard, it's in the middle of our back yard.

back to my question, are the woods part of your property? if so, you may be able to divert that water laterally. if you get through the clay or impervious layer over there with a big dry well, the water might go away.
I've done that many times. Sometimes it takes a bigger machine.

We cleared our lot back to the neighbor's woods where the property line is. I think I will take the trench dirt and build a berm on the back of my property to divert his water away from my yard. Would be a nice built up area to plant evergreen bushes/trees so I don't have to watch his TV at night.

 

[38Chevy454]

I can sympathize with your water drainage issues. My lot is very flat, and soil is heavy clay. So with all of the springtime rains and lower temps still the soil is saturated and my effective water table is basically near ground level for much of the back yard currently. So much so that water is just sitting on the surface. The very small slope on the property (like 4 inches over 200 ft) just isn't enough to get the water to flow off; and the clay soil once saturated is very slow to soak up the water. My house is raised and the front yard has more slope so it's not as bad. But my sump pump gets regular use year round and especially at this time of year. When I mow the yard, water squirts out from under the mower tires, and each time I have to wash down the mower from all the muddy water splash on it. Wish it would get warmer and slow down on all the rain we have had recently.

Back to your problem, the real solution is to connect all of your neighbors drainage into an underground pipe and flowing into the storm drain. Your collection pond is only going to drain at the rate ground water soaks into the ground. Unless you add the pump solution to get the water up and away into the woods. But the best fix is to continue the flow out to the storm drain using gravity and getting rid of the collection pond.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

Whatever the solution, ensure it doesn't result in standing water, so you don't create a mosquito problem.

https://animals.mom.com/long-mosquitoes-breed-standing-water-10182.html

"The length of the mosquito breeding cycle varies by species, but mosquitoes generally need 10 to 14 days to develop in standing water. Insect control authorities often recommend dumping any standing water at least once a week. Preventing mosquitoes from breeding not only reduces the nuisance of being buzzed and bitten by these pests, but it also can help protect you and your household from mosquito-borne diseases such as the West Nile virus."

"Some mosquitoes that bite after sunset breed in puddles and roadside ditches and can reach maturity within seven days. If the water stands more than a week, you could end up with these evening blood-suckers, the Virginia Department of Health reports."

 

[ERD50]

.... By the time I got to the end and was digging the big basin, it was full of water. I'm starting to think the basin will never be dry. ...

I think you are right. And as others said, put stone in there and it holds a lot less water, it won't be much different from before you dug it out.

And you are in Ohio? Your pump will likely freeze in a 2 foot deep basin.


I agree with others, co-ordinate with your neighbors and let gravity do the work. I've found gravity to be extremely reliable, and if it fails, we all have bigger problems!

-ERD50

 

[youbet]

The water overflows the basin and proceeds further downhill into the neighbor's yard. But at least it isn't a fast flowing river like it was before.

I'm thinking it might still be a fast flowing river. Your drain collects the water and fills the basin. The basin fills and then overflows at the rate water is added to it. There will be a delay equal to the time it takes for the basin to fill before the river develops, but it seems that after that pretty much the same thing.

Is it the redirection of the water and/or the time it takes for the water to move from above you, through your yard (via the new drain and pit) and into your neighbor's yard that you're counting on to eliminate the "fast flowing river?"