Do you have such areas in your yard that hold water after a rainfall? If yes then this is a common problem, and sometimes it is difficult to solve. Dozens of people try to battle this problem for years. So what can be done? 

Many a time’s people raise question that what kind of a tree or what kind of shrubs can be planted in a wet area to dry it up. This is the wrong approach. Most plantsor almost all plants will not survive in an area where the soil is wet for extensive periods of time. Planting a tree or a shrub in this type of area will not letthem to breathe and it will kill it.

Another common approach is to fill the wet area with topsoil. But adding soil to the wet area doesn’t work all the times as it will only shift the water to another area just a few feet away. 

If you have a ditch or a drainage system nearby you then you are lucky and this problem is easy to solve. It is worse condition for the plants and shrubs in your garden it your yard remains soggy all the time. If you are fortunate tohave some fall to your yard, or a storm water system that you can drain water into, this problem is easy to solve. Make sure you check with your local officials before you do anything at all with a storm drain.

To avoid such a thing all you need to do is that buy a 4” Plastic pipe for the drainage use. This type of drain pipe has small slits all around the pipe. These slits allow water to enter the pipe so it can be carried away.  Or just dig a channel from the center of the low area you are trying to drain, to the point that you intend to drain it. By using a simple line level you can make sure that your pipe is running down hill all the way. A line level is a very small level that is designed to attach to a string. Any hardware store sells them for just a couple of dollars. Set the string up so it is level, then measure from the string to the bottom of your channel to make sure you have constant fall. You should have 6” fall for every 100’ of pipe. 

The highest point is going to be the area that you are trying to drain, so you only want your pipe deep enough at this point so it can be covered with soil. Once the trench is dug just lay the pipe in. At the highest end of the pipe you will need to insert a strainer into the end of the pipe to keep soil from enteringthe pipe. Cover the pipe with some washed stone, and then back fill the trench with soil. The washed stone creates a void around the pipe so that the water can find its way into the pipe.