Yard drainage comes to the front of every homeowner’s mind at least once. Maybe a new development upsets the neighborhood’s runoff balance, an uphill neighbor’s new patio sends water sheeting through your backyard, or maybe a large rainstorm creates an unexpected pond. There are several different ways to manage lawn and landscape drainage.
Catch Basins as Yard Drains
Catch basins are a great water runoff solution in regions with non-porous dirt, because they are designed to trap sediment and redirect the contained water offsite. Some basins have cut outs or weep holes, in the basin floor to let water seep slowly back into the ground, but they are mainly used to reroute stormwater.
Outlet strategies
- Connect the basin to smooth-walled or corrugated pipe
- Connect the basin to French drains
- Cut out weep holes in the basin floor
Catch basins may be installed based on how much water needs to be rerouted. Smaller water flows can use a 6” Spee-D Basin or a 9” x 9” square basin, but for bigger drainage solutions you’ll need a bigger solution. Catch basins are available up to 24” wide.
Catch basins are often referred to as “point drains,” meaning they work best when installed in low points. But if you have multiple low points where drainage is needed, you can still use catch basins and connect them in series with piping (or French drains) so that your lawn continues to drain properly.
There are also decorative catch basin grates available for lawn and patio drainage applications. This decorative grating, whether plastic or cast iron, is a popular choice for homeowners installing catch basin drainage systems in their yards.
Dry Wells as Yard Runoff Control
Dry wells, like NDS’s Flo-Well, have inlet grates and connections for outlet pipes like catch basins, but they have one major difference. Dry wells are designed to store the captured water and let it percolate back into the soil in its own time.
The standard inlet grate for a dry well is 4” diameter, but you can choose bigger grates for faster lawn drainage by connecting it to a low profile catch basin. Each drum can capture up to 48 gallons, but this drainage option has the ability to stack or connect to each other to handle more water runoff. Similar to catch basin drainage, the excess water that can’t leach into saturated soil can be directed offsite using pipes or French drains.
French Drains as Lawn Drains
French Drains are a common and easily installed drain that consists of a perforated pipe surrounded by aggregate and a filter fabric. These lawn drains can drain yard runoff on their own or in tandem with catch basins and dry wells. They work better in areas with porous earth that can absorb water.
Outlet strategies:
- To daylight (open-ended)
- To a pop-up emitter
- Underground storage containment
When battling large volumes of runoff through your lawn, using a French drain alongside a catch basin or dry well can help you retain and manage more water.
On their own, French drains naturally suck up lawn runoff and carry it toward an outlet, which either runs to an open end or to a pop-up emitter.
Catch basins, dry wells and French drains can all outlet to daylight or to pop-up emitters. A pop-up emitter is a closed cap that only “pops open” to release captured water when pressure within the pipe is sufficient. During dry weather a pop-up emitter stays closed and lies flush with the ground.
Whether you want your lawn runoff to drain offsite or you want to hold it onsite until the skies clear, there is a solution for you.
Trench Drain Systems is one of the largest distributors in the United States who are committed to providing you with quick solutions to all your surface water runoff problems. Our professional staff can assess your project requirements and quickly offer you competitive pricing and information regarding the products you need. Contact us for a free quote or for further information on drainage solutions visit TrenchDrain.com or DrainageKits.com
Phone: 610-882-3630
Email: Shop@TrenchDrain.com
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