Drainage issues at your place?

Previous years in Australia have certainly seen some extreme weather & our properties drainage has been tested.  Our hearts go out to those of you who have been badly effected by flooding in the past, seeing homes & cars inundated by muddy waters.  Lives were lost changing peoples lives forever.

 

There are many suburbs that are more adversely effected over others due to their location and unfortunately not much can be done to reduce the risk.  There are however many homes that could, just by simply making some changes within the garden, reduce the chance of flooding.  If you had issues on your property during previous significant weather events, have you been able to pinpoint what the problem was?  Where the water was coming from or what was stopping it from moving off your property?

New estate developments ensure appropriate drainage is incorporated on residential blocks but in huge downpours neighbouring properties can often feed water onto your property. Larger blocks often don’t have any drainage to deal with ground water and so this will need to be addressed to ensure it is not proposing any risk to your house or that of your neighbours.

If your property is at the top of a hill then your problems will be minimal but for those in any subsequent properties on the bottom side, the water load can be enormous!  Directing ground water out to the street is the optimal plan of attack, whether this is done at ground level or by underground pipework.  It is important to remember that pipework fitted with a ground drain will need to be maintained to ensure the grid doesn’t get blocked by leaf litter or alike, rendering your drainage solution useless. Drainage works can be very costly but there are alternatives.

A strategically placed scoop drain or swale drain will work wonders in most cases and can be incorporated into your garden design by planting it out like a dry river bed.

For another solution, a garden bed will be just as effective especially if it is a raised garden bed.  With the correct placement, water can be redirected away or around your home to avoid flooding.

What we experienced in the past is extreme amounts of rain in a very short period of time.  This is why it is imperative that your ground water is not only getting away, but is doing it as quickly as possible.