How To Fix A Yard That Holds Water

Do you have areas in your lawn that just don’t hold water after a rainstorm, but water practically floods on your yard’s surface. – Water just likes sitting there! Stagnant water can be triggered by a variety of factors: including poorly draining soil, poorly graded ground, and so on..

So how do you fix this? Keep reading and learn more on how to fix a yard that holds water.

Having a green and beautiful yard is always a source of pride for many. But finding a soaring patch of standing water on your lawn after a few drops of rain is rather unsettling.

Not only is stale water unpleasant, but it might also ruin your lawn, weaken your house foundation, kill different plants or serve as a nesting ground for mosquitoes, among others.

So why is water accumulating in my yard, you may ask? Your lawn is flooded with water, and you have no idea or no sure why!  The thought of your kids playing on a muddy lawn is killing you; plus, you are afraid your yard will become a mosquito breeding ground.

 Don’t worry! Here is everything you need to know on how to fix water drainage problems in your yard.

Why Is Your Yard Holding Water?

When water puddles build up on your yard, it can signify either easily fixable maintenance habits or more profound lawn design flaws. Stagnant water in the lawn can be caused by a variety of factors.

Let’s look over the most common culprits.

1.     Overwatering Your Lawn

This is one of the most common causes of standing water in your yard. If you overwater your yard, the ground would not be able to take in all the water.  Eventually, it will settle on the soil surface.

If you are using an automatic sprinkler system, please adjust the settings to minimize the quantity of water in your lawn.

Does grass burn when watered in the sun?

2.     Grading or Leveling Your Lawn

When did you last level your lawn? Grading your lawn once in a while is a significant step in improving your lawn’s drainage.

If your lawn landscape is not designed in an angular position, the water will not flow out and will eventually pool up on your grass. The yard should slope away from your house at a slight angle towards the drainage outlets or sewers.

3.     Thick and Hard Soil

Another common cause of standing water is hard or heavy soil. If your yard soil is dense, compacted, and usually thick, water will have a tough time seeping through the soil.

Thick soil is generally considered less absorbent, and that’s usually why you will continue seeing water patches on your yard.

How do you make lawn soil softer?

4.     High Water Table

When water is absorbed into the soil, it gradually accumulates to form a water table, a soil level that consists of water, rocks, and dirt. Sometimes, especially when the yard is flooded, the water table rises to the ground creating water puddles on your lawn.

How to harvest rainwater for lawn irrigation

5.     Lawn Thatch

Thatching is an essential factor when dealing with standing water. Most of the time, especially after mowing, dead grass and other debris such as leaf litter will clutter up the yard. This inhibits the soil’s ability to absorb water efficiently.

The porosity of the soil also plays a major role in draining clogged water. An absorbent yard will allow water to pass through the earth rather than settling on the surface.

So how do you fix water pooling in your yard? Well, you can use several techniques to fix water drainage problems in your yard.

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How To Fix A Yard That Holds Water

Thankfully, the good news is, this is something you can fix. Depending on the root cause of the water clogging problems, you can take several measures to improve your yard’s ability to drain water.

Let us go through each of these approaches one by one.

Adding French Drains On Your Lawn

One common way of stopping your yard from flooding from rain is using a French drain.

If you have serious flooding in your yard, it’s vital to install a French drain. It’s simply a graded trench that channels water away from your lawn and buildings.

The channels are then stuffed with gravel and small stone, which allows gravity to steer the water into hole-riddled pipes that sit at the bottom of the trenches.

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Divert All The Rainwater Underground

During rainy seasons water running through the gutters and the downspout can cause lawn flooding. Water clogging will, of course, happen due to excess water, poor drainage, or improper grading.

So the best way to handle excess water is by redirecting it underground. It works best if you have a French drain or any other drainage system installed.

See also: How does a lawn pop-up drain function

Grading your Yard

Another way of fixing water pooling up in your yard is grading your lawn. By now, you already understand how grading works. With proper grading, the water will run smoothly from the highest point of the lawn downwards to the drainage outlets.

Regrettably, not every lawn has a good grading. If you think you are not up to the task, it’s advisable to consider hiring a landscaping professional.

Break Up Hard Soil

If your lawn soil is made of thick clay, water will obviously not seep through, and this will cause a slew of drainage issues.

To solve these issues, you will need to improve the soil’s composition by adding manure or compost. This would aid in breaking up the hard soil and making it more absorbent.

Dethatching Your Lawn

The organic litter scattered across the lawn usually hinders water from seeping beneath the lawn soil. The only thing to do is dethatching and aerating your yard to improve soil drainage.

Taking care of your lawn can be challenging, and it can quickly become stressful if you have no idea what to do.  That’s why for most people, it can be so irritating to find patches of water on your lawn any time it rains.

Nobody wants standing water on their lawn. It destroys your lawn and also brings about many sanitary problems. Fortunately, you can fix these issues and bring back the beauty of your lawn.