It’s the season many of us have been waiting for after the long winter: spring. We shift from things like coats to short sleeves, basketball to baseball, and snow to rain. As the temperatures rise in the spring months, the precipitation increases as well. Here in Nashville, it’s not uncommon to receive nearly four feet of rain per year, much of it in April and May. Such a high volume of rain can lead to issues with water pooling in your yard when the ground isn’t capable of handling that much water. As a result, your home and property could experience issues such as basement flooding, soil erosion, and destruction of property. Thankfully, there are several methods to ensure your yard is able to handle the incoming precipitation.

How Do I Stop My Yard From Ponding?

The way in which your yard best handles large amounts of rainfall will vary, and there are several approaches that can be used independently or in combination to prevent unplanned waterfront property. No two yards are alike, so having a professional assess the situation will help guide you to which of these options will keep your landscape intact.

A common solution for landscape drainage is a French drain. This is a pipe settled deep in the ground and covered by gravel so that it allows underground water to trickle down and be carried off to another location. Without the drain, excess water seeps into the soil until there is no more space left in the ground and then backs up onto the surface. Like a sponge, there comes a point where there’s simply no more space for additional water to be pulled in. With the French drain, there is an option for the soil to allow some to escape, acting as a slide that transports that water to another location that can handle it. This could be an existing body of water, a large space, or even a collection cavity. Installing a French drain can be difficult, as it takes experience to know where it should go and how to efficiently get it in the ground with minimal hassle to the rest of your yard. It’s a fair amount of manual labor and may require equipment, especially if the ground is rocky or difficult to dig. Without proper installation, the pipe may not sufficiently drain and will require revision, including digging it up all over again. Hiring an expert like Greenway can help prevent a costly and time-consuming mistake.

Sometimes a more subtle approach is warranted, in which case a swale is another possible landscape drainage solution. This is a gentle valley in the ground that is a way to increase surface area and distribute the water over a large space for more even absorption by the ground. It also has a slope that is just enough to help guide the water runoff in a slow way to minimize any erosion. The swale will need careful consideration, as if the slope is too gentle, the water won’t move anywhere—too steep, and it will take soil with it. At Greenway of Nashville, we have been implementing solutions like swales for over 15 years and are confident in our ability to execute them with ease.

If you find water pooling in the yard after heavy rain and it always seems to be at the base of a hill, your yard may need grading. Grading is the process of resurfacing the ground to change its angle or slope. For example, if there is a steep hill that is lowest near the foundation of your home, gravity will dictate that rainfall will roll down the hill in that direction. In this case, you would want to reverse the slope so that the highest point was near the foundation and the lowest point further away from the home. Grading requires skillful assessment of the existing slope along with the calculations to determine how the incline should be changed. An ideal grade is around 2%, meaning that the change in elevation is around 2 feet for every 100 feet of distance. Grading requires the movement of soil, either from one area to another or by purchasing additional dirt to be hauled in. This is another project that can require heavy lifting and machinery, which can be daunting if it’s not something you’re used to.

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What Other Projects Help With Landscape Drainage?

Another effective tool to be used in conjunction with drainage solutions are gutters. Secured around the edge of the roof, these troughs catch water as it rolls off and redirects it to a downspout secured to the side of your home. The downspout is a vertical pipe that leads to a specific location for the rainfall to go instead of collecting around the base of your house. This helps prevent damage to your foundation by preventing a waterfall effect down the side of the house. If you have a basement, it also helps reduce the chance of water leaking in. If needed, the downspout can be connected to an extension of pipe that runs underground similar to a French drain to guide the water elsewhere. Gutters won’t directly fix a landscaping drainage issue on their own, but they’re an important part of minimizing water collection and should be a complementary tool to drainage solutions.

Yards with poor drainage can also be plagued by erosion, where the ground washes away with the excess water. In this case, a retaining wall may be beneficial for helping maintain the shape of the ground. Composed of brick, concrete, or similar materials, a retaining wall creates a ledge that holds up to the pressure of the soil as it gets saturated with water. This allows the ground to remain in place and keep its shape instead of slowly turning into a hill over time. While a retaining wall alone won’t prevent pooling, when paired with a French drain, it’s an excellent way to maintain the integrity of your property. Like many of the other drainage solutions, a retaining wall requires significant planning and work to correctly design and install. Retaining walls are one of the primary projects we do at Greenway, with customers all over the Nashville area who’ve benefited from our experience.

If you find you’re experiencing water pooling in your yard, it should be addressed sooner rather than later. The longer it continues to happen, the more damage that can accumulate to the ground and structures affected. Getting expert help from Greenway of Nashville take away the problem and keep your yard pond-free for years to come. It’s better to fix it now instead of waiting for trouble that’s inevitable – you don’t want to be staring at a miniature lake in your front yard the next time a big storm comes through.

Learning how to fix ponding water in a yard isn’t easy when there are so many methods and considerations—so it’s a good thing you don’t have to. Greenway of Nashville will analyze your landscape, help determine the best options, and deliver guaranteed results backed by years of experience. We’re happy to share our portfolio of happy customers with you, and even happier to count you among them. To get started on your drainage or landscaping project, contact us through our website or by calling us at (615)-238-4574 for a free quote.

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• The Benefits of a Retaining Wall for Your Property
• How a Landscape Drainage System Works