At Bio Green, we have seen a number of poorly executed attempts at solving basic residential drainage issues over the years. With the record-setting rains we suffered throughout the Mid-Atlantic last year, I thought we should examine some of the pitfalls to avoid when trying to solve your newfound drainage problem.
While I am confident you would not be reading this if you didn't know what a drainage basin was, my editor tells me I should explain... A drainage basin (sometimes called a catchment basin) is basically a heavy duty box that comes in various sizes with a slotted lid. Commonly used to catch storm water runoff to be piped underground to some more desirable location (Note: your neighbors lawn should not be considered a more desirable location unless the objective is to get them to hate you).
I feel safe in saying that most lawn and landscapes in our area have some problems with poor drainage. With the predominantly clay soils here in NOVA and our sometimes extremely wet weather (5.22 inches in the month of May, so far) it is almost unavoidable. Hollywood has taught us that the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one but with drainage, you might not know.
