How to Get Rid of Standing Water in Your Yard
Some homeowners don’t think that standing water in the yard is a big deal. After all, it’s only temporary, right? It’ll get evaporated by the sun soon or soak into the soil.
The truth is that standing pools of stagnant water in your yard can lead to significant issues. They can become breeding grounds for mosquitos and other pests. They can drown and suffocate plants, leaving you with brown patches on your lawn and dead flowers. Fortunately, if your landscaping is prone to puddles, there are solutions available.
The way to get rid of standing water in your yard involves either improving drainage in your yard or fixing a leak in your irrigation lines. That’s why, if you have a problem with standing water in your yard, it’s important to call a technician who is knowledgeable about both drainage and sprinkler repair. When you call Andy’s Sprinkler, Drainage, & Lighting, here are some of the steps we may follow to get rid of standing water in your yard:
Improving Drainage in Your Yard
Pulling weeds, adding fertilizer, pruning, mowing — these are all steps that people take to keep their yards healthy and looking beautiful. Some yards need an additional step, such as; improving drainage.
Drainage issues can occur for a number of reasons, and they’re usually out of the homeowner’s control. Perhaps you have a sloped yard that ends in a flat spot where nuisance water can collect. Many yards in Texas have drainage issues because most of the soil in yards is clay soil (which is dense and therefore makes it harder for water to flow through). Fortunately, the drainage experts at Andy’s have a solution for every type of drainage issue. Some of these include:
Install French Drains
A French drain is a trench that is filled with gravel or rock, with a perforated pipe at the bottom. Since the gravel/rock is much less compact than soil (especially clay soil), water can flow down more easily. And at the bottom is a pipe, which directs the nuisance water into a drainage ditch or another area away from the yard. When a French drain is installed in an area prone to pooling water, it can completely eliminate the issue.
If you’re concerned about how it looks, don’t worry. When a professional drainage team installs a French drain in your yard, they can make it blend in seamlessly.
Install Catch Basins
A catch basin looks like nothing more than a small grate in your yard, but there’s a lot more going on underneath the surface. When water flows through the grate, it flows down into an underground pipe, and from there, it gets directed out of your yard. Catch basins are another great solution for when nuisance water is collecting in a certain spot in your yard.
Sometimes, the cause of yard flooding is a downspout that directs water off your roof and right into your yard. Catch basins are the perfect solution to this issue. When a catch basin is installed directly underneath a downspout, the water will no longer enter your yard; it will be redirected instead.
Fixing Sprinkler Issues
Does it seem like your yard almost always has standing water, even when it hasn’t rained recently? This could be a sign of an issue with your sprinkler system. Perhaps the issue is as simple as you overwatering your yard. If you water your yard for too long, oftentimes the plants can’t soak it all up and you’re left with pockets of standing water in your yard. On the other hand, it could be a sign that you have a leak — especially if it’s only happening in a certain small area of your yard.
If you suspect that there might be a problem with your sprinkler system, you should call a knowledgeable professional right away. They can diagnose the issue and repair it quickly before it can damage your yard further or cause your water bill to spike.
Call a Sprinkler/Drainage Professional
When you notice standing water in your yard, you should call a technician right away. It’s important that you find someone who understands both drainage systems and sprinkler systems to take care of the issue. Not only can they better diagnose the issue, but you also don’t want someone who doesn’t understand sprinkler systems to build you a drainage system. What if you need a sprinkler system line redirected to make room for a French drain? What if an unknowledgeable company breaks a sprinkler head when digging to build a channel drain?If you have standing water in your yard and want a company that knows both drainage and sprinklers to take care of it, contact Andy’s Sprinkler, Drainage, and Lighting. We’ll be there right away to diagnose the issue and fix it correctly the first time.