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Amateure engineering: Back Yard 2.0

by super_machine

About a year ago I began an epic project to solve a major issue with my back yard. Seasonal flooding. Here is a quick run down of the situation with my back yard. -Low spot (water doesn't drain) -Solid clay under soil -Lot behind me is on an incline Those three factors caused two main problems. My backyard becomes a swampy mess this time of year, and the soil saturation reaches a critical level...

 About a year ago I began an epic project to solve a major issue with my back yard. Seasonal flooding. Here is a quick run down of the situation with my back yard.
-Low spot (water doesn't drain)
-Solid clay under soil
-Lot behind me is on an incline
 Those three factors caused two main problems. My backyard becomes a swampy mess this time of year, and the soil saturation reaches a critical level and leaks into my basement :( 
Last year I decided to figure out a solution that would solve both problems and not cost me a fortune. I devised a plan to build a drainage field and install a pumping system to collect and move the water to a part of the yard which drains into the street. The project took me about two months (working solo) and cost about $300.  That was a year ago, and this is the first Spring thaw with the system installed. I still consider it a prototype, but the test results have been perfect. Last week the all the snow melted in a period of three days and then it rained two days straight. Not a single leak in the basement, and the ground in the backyard remains firm. It's been sunny for the past three days and I can still hear the system belching out water like clock work. 
It was a lot of hard work, and I wanted to share this because its something I'm really proud of. It is an amazing feeling when you have a good idea and can bring it to life the way you imagined.
 

 1. Find the low spot and mark where to dig.
2.  Dig!!!
3.  Install pump well. Bury electrical and tube for water terminus.
4.  Install perforated drain pipe.
 5. Cover pipe with 1/2 inch washed gravel.
 
 
 
 6. Cover with lose topsoil. Remove excavated material. Seed.  
 
 

 
   7. Disguise pump terminus and activate the system. Done.