This project recap gives you some quick insight into strategies and products used by Greenleaf Garden Services to provide soluble solutions to water related issues. Donna Nugent contacted us in 2015 regarding standing water in her yard near an existing neighborhood drainage channel and natural underground spring. The area in question was, once upon a time, a small artificial pond that has now been backfilled with earth and seeded with grass.
Over time, this earth fill has settled, allowing water from the site and neighboring sites to collect in low spots while creating a maintenance nightmare and unwanted insect breeding ground. In need of an immediate solution, Greenleaf suggested to the Nugents that a trench be dug, bisecting the area, to help temporarily collect water and direct it to the nearby channel until a more permanent solution could be implemented. At the midpoint of the trench, a large hole would be dug and filled with gravel to act as a catch basin for the water, slowing it down as well as minimizing standing water in the yard. Ez-Flow drain pipe would then be installed in the trench and atop the gravel pit at a minimum of two percent slope downhill, covered with dirt and daylighting in the nearby channel.
We were delighted when the Nugents accepted the proposal, and we are looking forward to continued work there. This area is a low point near their property as well as part of a much larger drainage network that helps to support the neighborhood and other water resources downstream. We hope to see this space evolve into something that will continue to help support the existing underground spring located on site and create a wonderful ecosystem for people, plants, and animals to enjoy together.
Related Read: Creating a Leawood Rain Garden
Below are photos of the project. Enjoy and please check out the product on the NDS website. If you’re interested in using this yourself for home drainage projects, Industrial Sales out of Olathe is a great place to contact for all the materials you may need.
