Fixing a Yard That Is Ponding

Check with your local utility companies to make sure there are no buried pipes or wires where you are planning to dig. If your home is on a septic tank, make sure you avoid the sewer lines, tank and drain field.

Dig a trench 8 inches wide by 24 inches deep from the area where the ponding is occurring to a place in your yard that is suitable for discharging the water. This can be a gravel bed, holding pond or other appropriate location. If it is allowed where you live, you can also discharge it into a gutter or another drainage system. If digging through a lawn, carefully lift and remove the sod from the drain area so that you can replace it after you install the drain.

Line the trench with landscape fabric, using a piece that is large enough to cover the bottom and both sides, with enough left over to place over the top of the finished drain. This helps keep soil and sand out of the drain.

Place a 2-inch layer of washed 1-inch gravel in the bottom of the trench. Lay a 4-inch perforated drainpipe on top of the gravel. If the pipe only has perforations on one side, place it with the holes pointing downward.

Determine the slope of the drainpipe with a level. Ideally, it should slope downward at the rate of 1 inch or more for every 8 feet of pipe. Add more gravel under the pipe to adjust the angle if necessary.

Fill in the trench with 1-inch gravel. Stop near the top of the trench, leaving just enough room so that when you replace the sod it will be level with the surrounding grass. Lay the rest of the landscape fabric over the top of the gravel and arrange it so that none will stick out once the drain is covered.

Replace the sod or fill in the top of the trench with soil. Be sure not to cover the outlet of the pipe, so that the water can drain freely.