Yard drainage for natural rainfall and snowmelt throughout the year is an important element in your yard's planning, especially when you are dealing with a steep slope and one or more low spots in your yard. Here are some recommendations to help you take care of your yard's drainage problems with the right installation.

Adjust Your Yard Slope

When your yard is experiencing a high amount of moisture within the soil that causes soil erosion and saturation, especially around the foundation of your home, you need to correct the problem by modifying and improving the soil's slope. The soil of your yard should slope away from your home's foundation to allow for water to follow the natural drainage course away from your home and into an area where it can settle down into the groundwater or drain into a dry well. 

As you add in supplemental soil to increase the soil slope, be careful that you don't increase it too drastically. This will still promote water drainage in the right direction in your yard, but it will also cause erosion to the soil, which will result in the same conditions emerging later on.

Add in a Drainage System

Many times water will flow down a slope where it collects in a low spot where it has no way to exit. Over time, this causes a saturated swampy area in your yard that can also promote mosquitoes. A good solution to help your yard's drainage is to add a French drain line within the soil to promote proper movement of excessive moisture without dealing with erosion or moisture damage. 

Before you install a French drain you need to analyze the area of your yard for its slope and where the water is pooling to cause a problem. There are several ways you can repair the drainage problem, either with an underground drain or by adding in drainage materials. A French drain installed along the water's natural flow pattern will help to collect this water so you can deposit it in another location instead of the low spot in your yard. You can also install a French curtain drain to collect the water at a higher point of your yard's slope and drain it away from the site. 

Just be sure if you are completing your own trench excavation for your French drain pipe that you slope the drainage line to a decrease in elevation so the water flows naturally with the help of gravity. Line the trench with a fabric barrier lining and a layer of gravel to help collect the excess moisture.

Reach out to a landscaping professional for more information regarding French drain installation.