How to Fix Poor Soil Drainage

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Identify where water collects.

   Watch your yard during rainfall.
   
   Note exactly where water tends to pool and sit.
   
   Also take into consideration how light or heavy the rainfall is, which may affect how large the affected area is.
   
   Plant stakes or flags in the center of the area and/or its borders while it's still wet if you think you will lose sight of it once it dries.For example, say you have a spot roughly ten square meters that has standing water after a day of average rainfall.
   
   Then say that, after a heavy rainfall lasting three days or more, the area expands to twenty square meters.
   
   In this instance, the problem area is probably still the original ten square meters, since the surrounding area usually doesn’t experience standing water.
2. 2

   Step 2: Check where the water is coming from.

   First, see if additional water is being concentrated on this spot by a nearby structure, like the roof of your house or shed.
   
   Next, check if the water is runoff from an impervious surface, like a driveway or patio, that’s close at hand.
   
   Finally, check the lawn’s surface to see if the affected area is noticeably lower than the surrounding area.Water goes wherever gravity takes it, so always work your way up from the affected area to find out how water is getting there. , Excessive water draining and pooling into a depression in the ground is certainly a problem, but keep in mind that it may not be the only one.
   
   Expect the soil itself to possibly prevent water from being absorbed.
   
   This may be caused by:
   Compaction from weight placed on it, such as parking vehicles on the same patch of earth repeatedly.
   
   Thick root structures from vegetation that block the water’s absorption through the topsoil.
   
   Soil that is composed mostly of clay, rather than sand and/or organic matter. , Take a 3-foot (0.9 m) wooden stake and plant it a third of the way into the ground alongside your house.
   
   Do the same with a second stake 100 feet (30.5 m) away from the house, with the affected area in between.
   
   Then:
   Tie a string around the first stake where it meets the ground.
   
   Then tie the other end to the second stake, using a level to determine how high up to make your knot, in order to keep the string perfectly horizontal.
   
   Go along the length of the string and measure its height off the ground to see how much it drops as you move away from the house.
   
   Ideally, your lawn should drop off a couple of inches (5 cm) every ten feet (3 m) from your house.
   
   If the ground rises again as you move away from the house, this may be part of your drainage problem.
3. 3

   Step 3: Check the soil.

4. 4

   Step 4: Measure the grade of your lawn.

Detailed Guide

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