Why do I need drainage on a land plot?

On most land plots there is a problem of excess water in the spring flood, after heavy rainfall or shallow occurrence of natural groundwater.

Excess moisture causes significant damage to buildings and paths, leads to waterlogging of cellars and mold, delays garden work and extremely harmful to the roots of plants on the site.

There are several ways to solve these problems, but the most effective is drainage installation.

Drainage is an engineering design for the drainage of excess water outside the dewatered area and its possible collection in storage tanks for future use.

Each owner decides for himself whether to install a drainage system on his site or not, but there are cases when it is necessary to do water drainage.

The drainage system is recommended if the land plot:

• has buildings with basement floors, underground garages, basements, cellars;
• gentle, where the water will stagnate, overwetting the ground;
• is on a slope where rainfall will erode the fertile soil layer;
• is located at the foot of the slope from which rainfall and melt water flows;
• is located near the reservoir (river valley, lakes, pond);
• in a place with shallow groundwater (lowland, marshy area);
• has clayey soils that trap water;
• is equipped with an automatic lawn irrigation system;
• covered with asphalt, concrete or tiles on a large part of the territory.

Proof of excess moisture in the soil or the proximity of groundwater will be puddles that do not disappear long after rain or spring snow melt. The same can be seen in trees that die for no apparent reason and in the protruding lawn.

Groundwater level can be judged by a well, a newly dug pit or a sump pit located in a nearby area.

Additional checking can be done by digging a hole about half a meter deep on an elevated site. If water collects on the bottom during the day, it means that this area must be drained.

Open and closed sewerage systems

Drainage systems for drainage from sites are divided into two types: open and closed. The open (surface drainage) consists of a network of ditches, in the closed ditches the pipes are laid (deep drainage) or a filler that is well permeable to water (backfill drainage) is poured.

Before designing drainage, planning work and estimating materials, it is necessary to determine which of these models will be most appropriate for your site.

Surface drainage

Surface drainage is the easiest and most effective way to set up drainage. Represents a complex of the connected ditches, width about 50 cm and depth about 70-100 cm, laid on a site at a slope of 2-3 cm on a meter of length for water drainage to a given place. Drainage ditches are especially good for areas located on a slope.

It is made relatively quickly and is inexpensive, but it is not aesthetic and is not safe for people because of the openness of the ditches, is short-lived because of the gradually collapsing walls of the ditches and requires periodic cleaning.

For additional strength of the ditch wall was previously reinforced with concrete, now use modern plastic drainage trays with decorative grates.

Open drainage often combines point and line system elements. Point Drainage is sufficient to collect and drain water from a certain local place: watering tap, roof drain, etc. Linear drainage, which is a network of ditches, is needed to remove water from a larger area.

Surface drainage is often combined with a rainwater drainage system designed to divert precipitation and excess process water from the adjacent area, such as car washes or garden paths.

Backfill drainage

Backfill drainage is a more modern method of drainage solution. Open ditches are filled with a filler - a layer of crushed stone, rocks or broken bricks, and then sand from above. The stones easily let water into the soil and the sand traps large debris, so the filter does not clog for long. Turf is laid on top of the sand, creating a natural vegetation cover and decorating the ditches.

The advantages of such a facility are durability, and the disadvantage is the lack of cleaning capability. In addition, in the event of a heavy rainfall, the backfill drainage structure may not be able to cope with the drainage of rapidly incoming water.

To increase efficiency and prevent silting, you can use geotextile, a durable synthetic fabric with good filtration properties, which is placed in a ditch before the filler is backfilled.

Deep drainage

Deep drainage is used for better water drainage. It is a complex of polymer perforated pipes (drains) laid underground with a slope towards a natural or artificial reservoir (collector, well).

On hilly terrain, the drains are laid in the direction from a higher point to a lower point. On flat ground the slope is created by different depths of pipe trenches or by using pumps.

The deep dewatering design is safe for people and completely invisible on site. It is a durable and reliable option. You can put a fertile layer over the ditches with drains, plant vegetable crops or ornamental plants, carry out other landscaping work on the site.

Drainage system project

The choice of the type of drainage arrangement depends on the peculiarities of the landscape topography, penetrating properties of the soil, the level of average annual precipitation, the depth of groundwater occurrence, planned costs and personal preferences of the site owner.

The scheme of drainage ditches placement on the site can be any: along the perimeter, herringbone, parallel lines or locally in places of necessary dewatering.

Drainage design requires high skills and experience, especially when using additional hydraulic equipment.

Without a drainage project it is very difficult to determine the correct location of the system elements, the exact amount of materials and planned costs. Any errors or defects here can cost a significant amount.

Installation of drainage is done at the initial stage of improvement of the territory, and it is much easier to take into account the location of existing and future buildings in advance on the plan.

In deep drainage, inspection manholes as well as absorption and storage manholes play an important role, and it is very important for them to choose the right places, which can only be done correctly on the project diagram.

Qualitatively designed and installed drainage will last 15-20 years, but still some of its elements periodically need prevention or replacement. Without an existing location plan, it will be very difficult to do so in ten years.

Initial terrain data are needed to develop the project:

• The plot plan with the buildings.
• Surveying, in the presence or development of complex terrain.
• Dendroplane for possible tying of drainage to landings.
• Scheme of garden paths to identify solid paving and water collection areas.
• A communications plan to avoid their possible crossing with the drains.
• Ground characteristics in relation to water.
• Composition and parameters of ground water.
• Availability and location of the water receiver.

Composition of the drainage system project

A professional drainage project must contain:

• General plan of engineering networks: drainage pipelines, storm and sewerage systems with relative reference to existing and planned buildings and facilities.
• Details of complex elements: places of connections of pipes, wells, water receivers, etc.
• Calculation data: pipe diameters and slope, ditch depth, filtering filler parameters.
• Vertical section of the drainage profile with height marks in the ground for water load calculation.
• Explanatory note indicating the specifics of the site and a description of the work being done.
• Specification and estimate for all equipment and materials.

Drainage device on site

Installation of the drainage system predetermines a large amount of excavation work, which is highly desirable to plan before other activities to create a landscape design.

Of course, you can try to save money and independently design and equip the drainage system on your site. But it is only possible to do this complex work yourself if you have special knowledge, skills and tools.

It is best to order a drainage system project and its installation to our specialists who have extensive experience in the development and implementation of such measures. They will do everything right and neatly, with special equipment and machinery.

Cost of the drainage system

Free specialist consultation