Over the weekend I installed a sump pump in my basement. I always had problem during rains with water pushing up between the foundation and slab, and from cracks in the slab. Sump pit solved that problem nicely, but now I have to do something with that water.
I have no access to a storm drain, I’m not allowed to run it to the road or within 5’ of neighboring property.
That pretty much leaves me with a dry well and/or French drain system.
I did have another idea though. Instead of having a completely buried system (Yay digging), what if I created a deep “patio” of semi-decorative rock like river stones…say 6-8’ square and 18" inches deep to run my outlet to. I have a spot off my deck steps that has a gravel patch anyway to keep from churning the grass to mud. Would my decorative-functional seepage pit have enough ground area that it would get rid of my water? Even if it ‘overflowed’ during rains and ran off into the grass, I don’t think that should be a big deal.
You might just want to do this and see if it works.
Otherwise dig a hole as deep as that would go and monitor it for a year. See if there is always or sometimes water in it or never water in it. In some places the water table can be quite high, so there will not be any drainage. Actually water could flow “backwards” , so be sure you have a one way “check valve” on the sump pump line.
Also some areas will have a high water table only during certain times of the year (rainy season). But there will be a much lower water table during the dry times. Cold areas can have “permafrost” and nothing will drain into that.
And different types of soil can be better or worse at draining.
If you were the government, you could spend $20,000.00 doing various drainage studies lasting a year - to determine if this would work and how large of a hole you should dig. But it might be a better idea to spend your money on going ahead and doing this. If it works, fine, if not build a larger hole or do something else. Keep part of your hole open for a year to see if it is draining or not.
Maybe you need some more area, but it can work. You want to make sure the water is taken far enough away from your house that you don’t end up cycling it through the sump pump.
Well I was wanting to re-do that spot anyway…guess I’ll try to plan a weekend I can wheelbarrow a couple tons of rock around the back of my house.
The spot is several feet away and slightly downhill, so I don’t think I’ll have a problem with running back. If I go too much farther it into the yard I’ll get in to a strip where it gets/stays really soggy during rains, so I expect that area is as saturated as it can be and won’t take any more water.
Not a hydro engineer, but have had water issues at multiple houses.
We did a French drain for the sump in our old house, and similar for our downspouts on the new. Worked great. Trenching and filling with gravel impresses me as a ton of a lot less work - and less expensive - than you are suggesting.
I’d personally prefer a 6" drain cap in my lawn over a patch of stones.
You say you don’t want the water to go further to the lowest/wettest point? I suggest that a good part of it is going to end up there anyways. It isn’t going to simply drop vertically down from your square of rocks.
Like I said, I’m no expert. But I wonder if the wet area is really a bowl. What would happen if more water went there? Would it run off someplace else? How would the dimensions of the wet area change.
The very rear SE corner of my back yard has standing water after heavy rains. Probably only a couple of feet lower than the ground level at my foundation. My french drain is maybe a 3d of the way from the end of my stone patio to the back fence. Some of the water from the drain percolates down, but in a downpour, it also comes up to the surface, where it runs down to the back corner.
I figure that the water wants to go to the lowest point, so I help it on its way. Having had water issues in 2 past houses, I prefer having a temporary pond, if that means I’m getting as much water as possible the hell away from my foundation. I think you’d have to direct a pretty incredibly huge amount of water back there to really make a significant difference.
We just redid the plantings back in that corner to put in plants that can thrive with occasional standing water. If you like gardening (which we do), you can casually go for a “rain garden” look.