Natural Pool In The Back Garden? Excavation Is The Answer!

Hello, my name is Terry and this is my landscaping blog. Today I will be giving you, my dear readers, the best advice I can give when it comes to landscaping your gardens, your commercial property or anywhere else. I must point out here that I am not what you would call a professional landscaper. I am a self-taught man who has spent many years making mistakes in his own garden so that others may avoid them. I also often call up my brother-in-law who is a professional landscaper for further advice. I hope this blog is useful and maybe even entertaining.

Natural Pool In The Back Garden? Excavation Is The Answer!

29 August 2017
 Categories: , Blog


As a homeowner, it is frustrating to wake up after overnight showers to find big pools of water in the back garden. It would be beneficial if these pools were big enough for the kids to swim in, but alas, these are nothing more than a nuisance which keeps the grass always wet and difficult to mow. There are a couple of reasons why your back garden is a natural water collector, and both of these reasons are fixable using the help of an excavation service. Which one of these common issues do you think is responsible for your drainage woes?

Leaking pipes

During the initial construction of your home, pipes were buried under your yard. One of these pipes connects your indoor plumbing to the local sewer system. The other pipe transfers excess water from the ground out to the stormwater drain. If either of these pipes is blocked or broken, they cannot do their job effectively.

Water from a standard rain storm should not sit on the ground for longer than 24 hours. If it does, or if damp ground occurs when there has been no rain, the water is leaking from one of these underground pipes. The first step to diagnose this is to hire a plumber who has camera technology they can feed into the pipe to check for cracks. Then, you will need an experienced excavator to dig up the broken pipe so it can be replaced. Your plumber can help arrange this.

Badly graded ground 

During the construction period of your home, the ground was graded to make it flat. However, this may not suit the natural topography of the area around you. For example, if there is property surrounding you that is higher than yours, and their water constantly drains into your home, then a flat back garden is going to be inundated with water from all directions. It can only drain so fast, which is why extra water may be pooling.

You will need the help of a landscaper to discover where the grading issues on your property are. The landscaper will take measurements of your property at different points. They will calculate the percentage of grading based on the height points taken across the garden versus the width of the garden. An ideal drainage grading is between 2% and 4%. If your garden does not meet these percentages, your landscaper will suggest using an excavation service to regrade the area.

Pooling water is bad for your lawn and encourages mosquito breeding, so take the time to fix this issue now before summer storm rainfall arrives.