Poor drainage is one of the common problems that homeowners face. These issues can become serious and costly if they are not addressed. It’s important to recognize the warning signs, so you can deal with the problem right away, before it severely damages your landscape or your home’s foundation. Check out these warning signs to help you identify landscape drainage issues.
Check Downspout Status
Take a walk around your property after a few days of rain or a heavy storm, or even during the rainfall. Check the downspouts of your home first. Are they clear, or is there brush and debris around them? Is the water flowing freely, depositing far enough away from your home’s foundation? Is it able to soak into the ground or drain away properly, or is it pooling right under the downspout? Water pooling or standing in that area, even after it’s had some time to dissipate, is a sure sign that your landscape isn’t able to drain properly.
Look for Pools and Puddles
Keep an eye out for places in your yard where visible pools or puddles of water tend to consistently form. Those areas need to be addressed, especially if they are too close to your house or areas of the yard that you use frequently. Soggy patches that squelch under your feet, even long after rainfall, are also indications of problematic drainage. Sometimes these areas can become smelly, due to the bacteria in the standing water, or they can breed insects such as mosquitoes.
Notice Odd Growth Patterns
When you have landscape drainage issues, you’ll likely notice some odd or uneven growth patterns of your grass or plants. In some cases, the overabundance of water will make certain spots of the yard abound with growth. They will look thick, lush, and gorgeous compared to the moisture-starved areas.
However, if too much water is being retained, the grass or plants can actually become saturated and “drown.” You may notice them dying, turning brown, even rotting. Fungus, disease, mold, and mildew can become an issue in such cases as well.
What You Can Do
Sometimes, remedying landscape drainage issues is as simple as cleaning your gutters and downspouts, adding a different kind of soil that drains better, extending the downspout, or including water-loving plants in those puddly areas. However, in more severe cases, you may need intervention from the experts. Kurtz Bros., has staff members and partners who specialize in stormwater management and landscape solutions, and they can help you redesign your yard to ensure better use of the water.
It’s important not to put off dealing with landscape drainage issues. Not only can they damage the aesthetic of your outdoor space or diminish its usefulness, but they can also cause long term problems for the foundation of your home—problems far more costly than a simple retooling of your landscape’s surface soil and curvature. Get in touch with Kurtz Bros., today and start the process of correcting your yard’s drainage issues.
