Grading a 2 acre lot?

[Hobby_Man22]

My lot has way too much standing water. It's more rural living where I'm at and I'm curious if that's just how it is in this type of area. Everything is flat no hills in sight. Other than grading away from the house and shop everything else just stays pretty much soaked in the winter time if we have lots of rain. (It doesn't snow here) It's not really practical to bring in enough dirt to put a slight grade all the way to the street ditch is it? Some people out here have like 5 acres

 

[mcbane]

Before bringing in thousands of yards of fill to make things drain toward the street ditch, might want to talk to the agency responsible for the road. Chances are the ditch was sized only to provide drainage for the road and they might not allow diversion of large amounts of water into their ditch.

 

[LB-1911]

My lot has way too much standing water. It's more rural living where I'm at and I'm curious if that's just how it is in this type of area. Everything is flat no hills in sight. Other than grading away from the house and shop everything else just stays pretty much soaked in the winter time if we have lots of rain. (It doesn't snow here) It's not really practical to bring in enough dirt to put a slight grade all the way to the street ditch is it? Some people out here have like 5 acres

So much for the thought this issue was resolved previously.

Drainage plans

You told us that they told you that you could not drain to the side road but rather you had to have a drainage plan to drain to the main highway in front of your house. What part of that did you not mean? Maybe it was in one of the other threads started on this same project.

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Before bringing in thousands of yards of fill to make things drain toward the street ditch, might want to talk to the agency responsible for the road. Chances are the ditch was sized only to provide drainage for the road and they might not allow diversion of large amounts of water into their ditch.

My question is more of maybe that's just how it is out in rural areas. Standing water etc.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Before bringing in thousands of yards of fill to make things drain toward the street ditch, might want to talk to the agency responsible for the road. Chances are the ditch was sized only to provide drainage for the road and they might not allow diversion of large amounts of water into their ditch.

Maybe that's just how it is then

 

[Garcky]

My question is more of maybe that's just how it is out in rural areas. Standing water etc.

Sounds like you still have all the questions you had a year ago. We really don't know that much about your property's layout, so we're unlikely to be able to solve your issue here, I'd guess. You'll probably have to hire some kind of pro to design the grading for your drainage issue. Once that's settled, you can probably get started on your project. Let us know what you discover and keep us updated on your progress.

 

[nickelTwin]

There are two of these threads going on the same subject?

First one started last year?

nice

 

[Zeke]

Dig a pond. Go fishing.

 

[Firebrick43]

Maybe you can take dirt from one spot to act as a retention pond and slop it up to the road so everything runs down hill to the pond. As a side benefit the ground around the power pole will be higher so you can keep an eye on the glowing transformer better!

 

[ycgoat]

while you work on an overall grading plan, you could identify the low points and put in some French drains

 

[RyanE]

I haven't followed your other threads.

But if you have a table flat piece of property and drainage issues, you may have to look into other ways to convey surface water that are not based primarily on surface grading.

For example, my property (smaller than yours) is quite flat. I've got sufficient grading around my buildings to allow water to flow away, but the remainder of the property can become wet/saturated on the surface. I don't like this. In my situation, the soil stratigraphy consists of a relatively impermeable layer of slits, underlain by permeable river gravel (at about 3-4' depth below the ground surface).

I have created a number of "infiltration wells" or "dry wells" throughout my property to allow surface water to drain into the river gravel below and flow away. These basically involved me digging pits down to the lower gravel layer, at strategic locations, lining with geo textile and then backfilling with drain rock. I even connected a few together with "french drains" to add capacity and capture some of the surface water between the wells. It has drastically improved the surface soil conditions and didn't require me to bring in huge quantities of fill material to try and regrade the entire property.

Look into "dry wells" and see if they could work for you. As a bonus, they may not require any permitting or formal plans if you install them yourself since they aren't affecting the surrounding properties or other infrastructure (roads, ditches, etc).

 

[Firebrick43]

I haven't followed your other threads.

But if you have a table flat piece of property and drainage issues, you may have to look into other ways to convey surface water that are not based primarily on surface grading.

For example, my property (smaller than yours) is quite flat. I've got sufficient grading around my buildings to allow water to flow away, but the remainder of the property can become wet/saturated on the surface. I don't like this. In my situation, the soil stratigraphy consists of a relatively impermeable layer of slits, underlain by permeable river gravel (at about 3-4' depth below the ground surface).

I have created a number of "infiltration wells" or "dry wells" throughout my property to allow surface water to drain into the river gravel below and flow away. These basically involved me digging pits down to the lower gravel layer, at strategic locations, lining with geo textile and then backfilling with drain rock. I even connected a few together with "french drains" to add capacity and capture some of the surface water between the wells. It has drastically improved the surface soil conditions and didn't require me to bring in huge quantities of fill material to try and regrade the entire property.

Look into "dry wells" and see if they could work for you. As a bonus, they may not require any permitting or formal plans if you install them yourself since they aren't affecting the surrounding properties or other infrastructure (roads, ditches, etc).

And can significantly degrade the water quality many times if they are improperly sited. Any fertilizers, insectisides, or herbicides placed on the lawn or neighbors lawn/fields can runoff into the well and contaminate the water supply as the soil acts as a filter. This a big problem with nitrates getting into the water supply.

This is why many places depending on soil test/structure are going to above ground level septic mounds as the soil is to sandy or gravel and drains to fast not allowing effluent from the septic enough time to be broken down by the bacteria.

 

[karoc]

See a lot of commercial jobs putting in retention ponds to hold some of water. Which may work for you unless lot rain run off is coming towards you from other areas

 

[PoorUB]

How to handle it? Dig a ditch or a low area and move the dirt from the ditch and move it over
to make high spots. You can just blend the low area and form a gradual rise to the high part of the property. You still need somewhere for you ditch to drain too, so if I remember you can't, so you need to get that issue figured out first.

Also, I would have resolved this before building on the property. I might have run in a couple feet of fill for under the building to raise it up, then move dirt from a low area gradually sloped to the building.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Soil conditions are always a factor-
What part of TX- City??

 

[NBN]

The quick answer to your question is......yes, that's how it is in ANY ares that is flat and of natural topography will hold water. You are probably on a high clay soil that doesn't allow quick percolation into the ground high water tables also factor into issues.
Grade a small swale and try to move some water around

 

[finn]

Just remember that, in most places, you can’t regrade your property so that your runoff becomes your neighbor’s problem.

Frankly, I would consider moving to a plot of land more suitable for your proposed use.

 

[RyanE]

And can significantly degrade the water quality many times if they are improperly sited. Any fertilizers, insectisides, or herbicides placed on the lawn or neighbors lawn/fields can runoff into the well and contaminate the water supply as the soil acts as a filter. This a big problem with nitrates getting into the water supply.

This is why many places depending on soil test/structure are going to above ground level septic mounds as the soil is to sandy or gravel and drains to fast not allowing effluent from the septic enough time to be broken down by the bacteria.

Yes, good points. Incorrect installation without consideration for the local aquifer or groundwater conditions could result in contamination issues. In my case, it is not a concern but it could very well be a problem where the OP is situated.

 

[ycgoat]

Here a well has to be 100’ or more from a septic system to avoid contamination, and the french drains are required to return water displaced by a building into the ground and preventing it from running into the surface water ways. They call it mitigation of impervious land cover I believe. They are not required to be connected to gutters

 

[Jeff C]

We have the same problem. Anytime it rains in the winter the ground is super soggy. The standing water eventually goes away but it still stays soggy and soft until spring time and the sun decides to return to a path higher in the sky.

It took me a few years but you just learn to deal with it. In the winter, spend more time in the shop and stay off the grass as much as possible. Whatever you do, do not drive on it during the winter.

Buy some muck boots for when you have to go out in the nearly swamp conditions. On a good note my son has discovered the routine fun of jumping on a mole tunnel and watching the muddy water shoot out of the ground a few feet away.

 

[toolmiser]

Not an answer by any means, more of a "bump", but what kind of vegetation do you have, and is there any others that would help you with your water problem? Is there a ''county agent" or someone similar that could be of assistance to you? These days there are government agencies for almost anything.

 

[Beau Nugget]

If there’s not enough grade to drain it on the surface (which I would think would be unlikely), you could install subsurface drain tile. Install the Perforated drain tile on a grade to ultimately drain into a sump. Install a lift pump in the sump and pump the water wherever you need it to go.

I think this is probably overkill. But I just wanted to use it as an example that if you are motivated enough, it is possible

 

[nadogail]

Can you plant some vegetation that will **** up the water and loosen the soil to improve your perculation?

A pond full of fish might help.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Dig a pond. Go fishing.

No permit is required for a pond dig apparently. I changed my mind on the pond dig though. I bet it's the same as having a pool. Insurance goes up and then you have to worry about the neighbors dog drowning. Been there done that. Had a dog drown in a pool once.

 

[bigdav160]

The same reason aerobic septic systems are required

 

[545_days]

A friend on the coastal plains of SE Texas did a survey of his 15 acres and drew a map on a 1" contour interval. He then built shallow swales (maybe 4" to 6" deep) to the front of the property and towards a pond he dug in the back. Without a good elevation survey (that you can do with a helper, you don't need a surveyor) it is near impossible to see any slope on his property.

It helped a lot, but they simple fact is that during a wet period the ground down here is saturated. He lives a few miles from the spot where the North American record for rainfall in 24 hours was recorded in 1979, 46.25 inches. In a flat area with crazy heavy rains there isn't much you can do.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

A friend on the coastal plains of SE Texas did a survey of his 15 acres and drew a map on a 1" contour interval. He then built shallow swales (maybe 4" to 6" deep) to the front of the property and towards a pond he dug in the back. Without a good elevation survey (that you can do with a helper, you don't need a surveyor) it is near impossible to see any slope on his property.

It helped a lot, but they simple fact is that during a wet period the ground down here is saturated. He lives a few miles from the spot where the North American record for rainfall in 24 hours was recorded in 1979, 46.25 inches. In a flat area with crazy heavy rains there isn't much you can do.

Not uncommon for it to rain for a week straight around here after a point you have a swimming pool

 

[theoldwizard1]

Pick a spot far away from any buildings, one that is preferably in a low spot already.

Read this GJ post My French Drain and Dry Well Project

The well includes all of the permeable area around it. IIRC, the hole with all of the gravel is 8' diameter and 4' deep. Bigger is better. Use 3/4" crushed limestone for fill. The geotextile is crucial. Without it, the Rick will silt up.

You still need an overflow. Mine is just above the dry well. Even though mine overflows when it rains hard, it drains quickly, maybe one day.

 

[htmdude57]

Do you have any trees? They can soak up good quantities of water. You could plant some 30-40 feet from the house, as long as the soil is dry enough for them to grow, but they might not be large enough to help until they are 20-30 years old.

 

[Jacko264]

I can’t help with the water problem but you could grow rice in your paddy field

 

[reader2580]

Pick a spot far away from any buildings, one that is preferably in a low spot already.

Read this GJ post My French Drain and Dry Well Project

The well includes all of the permeable area around it. IIRC, the hole with all of the gravel is 8' diameter and 4' deep. Bigger is better. Use 3/4" crushed limestone for fill. The geotextile is crucial. Without it, the Rick will silt up.

You still need an overflow. Mine is just above the dry well. Even though mine overflows when is rains hard, it drains quickly, maybe one day.

A dry well only works when the ground can absorb the volume of water. I was pumping so much water from my previous house that it overwhelmed a small dry well. I looked into having a 1,000 gallon dry well installed, but after talking to various people I figured the ground still would not be able to absorb the volume of water. I figured I was pumping a good 1,200 gallons per day. The city finally agreed to let me pump the water into a drainage ditch about 150 feet behind my house at the back of my lot.

The city completely rebuilt the road in the front of my previous house about five years after I sold it. I learned from the current owners that the water that is pumped out of the basement is now a fraction of what it was before the street was rebuilt. This seems strange since the house is 100 feet from the curb line.

 

[aardquark]

An alternative to regrading is to install drainage tile/pipe. Check out this video: