My backyard becomes flooded after every rain. At the bottom of this little pond there is a drain that’s obviously not draining. I’m not sure who to call to try to fix this issue, a plumber? Landscaper? Anyone else successful in fixing a similar issue?
I'm not OP, and I'm no expert in landscaping, plumbing, it much of anything else, really, but, I just wanted to say that I think it's very awesome of you to take the time out to be so thoughtful for a nova stranger. Cheers, mate.
In this thread: nobody is reading the description lol. OP has a drain. It’s just not draining. Not a plumber but I’d run a 50ft snake down it. I think you can rent them from the hardware store? If not it’s worth buying for future drain related issues.
I read the description. A previous owner installed a rainwater runoff drainage system that has failed. You’re not going fix this with a drain snake. lol
Without more context, we can just take OPs description as true. It’s possible it is a French drain and is clogged, and a snake is the easiest way to figure out what you are working with.
I also didn’t specifically mention any usernames, I just saw several comments that did not take the only context we have into account.
Just curious - what kind of companies install and service these things? I have a relatively complex one that works great but I didn’t put it in, came with the house. Who do you call for these things?
A lot of landscaping companies do this kind of work. I was the president of my HOA in Tysons and we got quotes from Wheats, Merrifield Garden Center, V.M. Drainage & Erosion Solutions.
Any recommendations on which companies to use/avoid? I'm starting to research for myself and had VM on my list.
We used VM and they did really good work. The only complaint we had is that they stripped out a section of grass; that was not in scope. It didn't change the cost, and they had good reasons for doing it, but we didn't want it taken out. They replanted grass. I can give you a lot more details if you are interested, DM me.
Thanks! I'll shoot over a message.
Thanks!
I hired a company to gutter jet or hydro jet my gutter drains. They even had camera they could send up after and check to see what it looked like would highly recommend.
Agreed^
You can also get some bioclean to clean out the drain. Once there’s less water
Added context: the drain is basically in the middle of the puddle as shown. Not sure when the drain was put in (I purchased in Sep 2023) and I don’t know where the drain pipe ends. The garage gutters do not lead to the drain. The terrain slopes from the front right (as pictured) down to the back left.
Thanks for the responses so far. I’ve got a snake that I will run down the drain as a first step.
How big is the drain grate? There could be sump pump in there that’s not turned on/working
DId you photoshop out the downspouts? I don't see any.
Is it possible the "drain" is actually a gutter outlet that diverts your roof runoff into your yard?
As a duck owner who built his ducks a pond, I’d say you’re just under ducked.
Grow rice or something. It works for phones. Don't ask questions.
So there's a few things.
As others have said start by snaking the drain to make sure there's no blockage.
Do you know where the drain daylights? Is there sufficient fall to make sure gravity is taking the water away? Is the part where it drains free from blockage/obstruction? I would usually start at the end of the drainage run and work backwards.
Is the drain inlet flush/lower than the surrounding ground?
If all else fails maybe you need to have a powered sump and piping installed to pump the water out of the area. Not a cheap solution but you really don't want water ponding next to your foundations like that.
I can't tell from the photo but if your lot is pretty flat and you can't get enough fall in the drainage pipe it's possible it might back up all the way to the drain inlet.
Landscape.
The drain will lead to a pipe that leads to somewhere off the property usually. The neck to the pipe may be clogged up or the pipe itself is either collapsed or clogged,
So in short may be an easy fix, or may need to be redone completely
It may look like a drain but is more likely a catch box. This can't be snaked, but you can remove the grille and clean it out if it's clogged up. It's basically a little holding tank that can hold water while it seeps into the ground, although it can drain into a pipe or french drain. OP may need a more robust solution.
A lot of landscaping companies do this kind of work. I was the president of my HOA in Tysons and we had a problem like this. We got quotes from Wheats, Merrifield Garden Center, V.M. Drainage & Erosion Solutions.
Build the pond and fishy’s will come. Now his family can eat for a lifetime.
I built a pond. Frogs came. Then my ducks ate all the tadpoles. No fish. Only ducks. 🦆
Ducks are edible too!
Buy a sump pump, you can find cheap ones. Run a hose out to the street until it drains. Then once the rain stops tomorrow you can clear out the drain so it doesn't happen again.
How long ago did this issue start appearing?
Big ass dry well and some regrading will go a long way IMO
I would seek out landscaping companies that advertise yard drainage issues as one of their services. You’re probably looking at complete tear out and replacement of what was previously installed.
Is that an alley? If so, perhaps you could dig a drain out to there.
Landscaper. Take the dirt from mulched area and put if up against the garage. Slope it.
Do you know where the drain drains to?
The solution to a scenario like this depends on a variety of factors. Namely the elevation of your yard and where it sits in relation to the land around it. From the photo it looks like your yard sits higher than your neighbors’ and you don’t appear to be near any major streams or flood plains, so I would say yes you should be able to prevent water from collecting here by either regrading the yard so that water runs away from your property (just don’t dump it all on your neighbor’s unless you want to get sued) or improving the existing drain. Yard drains aren’t always the best solution because as you’ve learned they can become clogged and not flow as well as they need to. I would hire someone to install a French drain beneath the soil. There are companies that specialize in it. It’s not cheap.
Sorry I'm of no help, but just curious why you have a fence going right through the middle of your yard???
It's to fence off the yard from the driveway.
Whoever installed the fence probably put it in to give the dog places to run. Putting the driveway inside the fence means you need to open and close a big gate every time the car goes in and out.
Rent a good quality snake from Home Depot and try to snake the line a couple of times. If you can get the snake to pass through the pipe successfully, run your garden hose through it as well to try to push out any debris and watch it all come flying out wherever it daylights at. If the snake won’t pass through it, but you know where the pipe daylights at call Miss utility and go to Home Depot. Get schedule 40 PVC pipe dig up the old junk and replace it with the new stuff.
Remove that flowerbed
Call 365 plumbing services. They can help
Newborg Drainage.
1) Fix existing or add french drain - Landscaper
2) Ensure the drain has a cover that prevents clogging
3) The best french drain will connect with neighbor's drain system(s) and/or flow directly to street area
4) Take advantage of these areas to treat for mosquitoes
Other tips - https://www.bobvila.com/articles/french-drain-cleaning/
Rain garden?
Drainage contractor. You need to know what is under there -- catch box, French drain, etc. I think throwing mulch or sloped dirt on it, or snaking it is a waste of effort until you know what you're dealing with. You don't want to mess with water.
I recommend Premium Drainage. They did a big job for me successfully. If they recommend a large job, get an engineer to verify that their plan will fix it. Premium's plan was basically on target, but they significantly undersized the pipes. My conclusion is your average drainage contractor just isn't educated in estimating water volume.
The engineer said I had 1.5 acres of water coming down on me. So he calculated everything properly and recommended what needed to be installed, e.g., 24" grates, not 12", and two 12" pipes, not one 8" pipe. Then we redid some of the work to properly size the pipes and grates for the flow of water. Works great now.
I'm surprised there aren't more discussions here about water infiltration and nature-based solutions.
Look into rain gardens and rain barrels.. although this might not fully fix this issue, improving the soil and root structure to act like a sponge during heavy rain events will seriously help.
Idk if Virginia/Fairfax Co. has rain garden guidance, but Wisconsin has a really good homeowners guide to give you an idea of nature-based landscaping... Definitely consider native species too (back of the book is WI specific)
There is a woman in Herndon who had hands on experience as an expert in suburban home excavation. She would be happy to dig you some new drainage infrastructure for a very reasonable price. You just got to sign that release to let her post the work on tiktok.
Call a drains and drainage company. Get a bunch of quotes as the prices vary widely and some companies overcharge. You need some sort of drain put there to move that water put
Per OP there is a drain, it’s just not draining. Run a 50ft snake down it OP!
Hydro jet it.
I'm trying to plan for something similar, though not as severe. I need some grading done and maybe a French drain installed.
Do you know if the drain is connected to anything or is it a dry well that is meant to help the soil absorb the water?
If it's a drain/pipe/plumbing connected to a sewer system then you'd want to try snaking or getting someone to "scope" to see if there are issues. If it's a dry well, you may want to see why it's not absorbing/dispersing as quickly as it should.
Seems like adding some fill dirt along that garage and into the yard would be step one. Step two would be removing a portion of that flower bed against the fence. Looks to me like it’s acting as a beaver dam, preventing the water from going downhill into the neighbor’s yard.
Hire a landscaper with a transit to shoot grades if he dosent have one send him packing. Do not let some talk you into a French Drain they are BS.
Add a few yards of soil to raise the grassy area and around the garage, and direct the water to a ditch between the bed and grass towards the front. A drain might not be feasible depending on how your property is level with the road.
50 foot deep 3 foot wide diameter pit for the water to drain into
Don’t buy a house built in a floodplain. Especially without a proper inspection. That’s honestly what you do. Since it’s too late for that you either sell and move, or consult with plumber/water people who can legally solve your storm water drainage problems.
So if the snake doesn't work, you can try to call someone to inspect the drain. If you want to try to do something yourself, I suggest you do some of the following. I added a picture to help illustrate.
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