Five signs your property has a drainage problem

Water is patient

Very few people call us about drainage. They call about a lawn that will not grow, a patio that has started to sink, or beds that keep washing into the driveway. Almost always the cause is the same, and it is water going somewhere it should not.

1. Water still standing a day after rain

A puddle during a storm is normal. A puddle twenty-four hours later is not. It means the water has nowhere to go, and the soil underneath is staying saturated long enough to kill roots.

2. Moss, or grass that thins in the same spot every year

Moss is a symptom, not a problem in itself. It grows where the ground stays damp and compacted. If you find yourself reseeding the same patch each spring, the seed is not the issue.

3. Mulch that keeps leaving the bed

Mulch washing onto paths or into the lawn means water is running across the bed at speed rather than soaking into it. Replacing the mulch every season treats the symptom at your expense.

4. Gullies, exposed roots or bare soil on a slope

Erosion is water finding a route. On the sloped and lakefront lots common around here, a small channel becomes a large one quickly, and the topsoil it takes with it does not come back.

5. Damp at the foundation, or a basement that smells different after rain

This is the one worth acting on quickly. Downspouts that discharge next to the house, or grading that falls back towards it, put water where it does the most expensive damage.

What fixing it usually involves

Rarely one thing. Often it is a combination of regrading a section so water runs away from the house, routing downspouts properly, and putting in a French drain or dry well where the water needs somewhere to collect. Then the ground is put back so it looks as though nothing happened.

If you are seeing two or more of these, it is worth having someone walk the property with you after a heavy rain. That is the best time to see where the water actually goes.