How to deal with discharge from my deck drain?

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kristenerika

kristenerika

0
Jul 20, 2015
25
Waco TX
Hello there. I hope someone can offer me some ideas.

I've got over 40 feet of deck drain that discharges water into a relatively flat part of my yard. Although we have not yet laid sod there, the drain comes out in an area that we intend to be grass. The area becomes a mucky puddle after hosing off the deck and I anticipate that this problem will continue even after I've got sod down (my dogs have a knack for finding wet areas in the yard and tearing the grass up in those spots to make a mess). I am guessing the situation will be much worse after the fall rains start.

I am not sure how to deal with this. The end of the deck drain is not a size/shape that would seem to readily tie into a hose to enable me to conduct the water down toward a part of my yard where there is a slope. I am thinking of something along the lines of a French drain, but am not sure. I know I could hire an expert, but this project has been super expensive already and I am hoping to devise a solution that doesn't cost me another $1000 to implement (I'm sure everyone remembers how quickly those things stack up the summer of a pool build).
 
Here are some photos. In the second one you can see how far the dampness extends -- this is from a thorough washing down of my deck yesterday. You can also see that the output of the deck drain is about 30 feet from my fence (on the other side of the fence the ground slopes sharply toward the street). image.jpg
 
Two options come to mind. Plumb it and run it to the fence/street. Dig a hole 3 or 4 feet deep and wide, fill it with gravel, add landscape fabric, dirt and sod.
 
I say either one of pooldv's ideas would work. If you plumb it you can bury the pipe under the ground so you can mow easier.

You could have fun with it and make it into a "stream bed with some soft curves and such.

Kim
 
Since you're in Texas, I'd sink a 1500 gallon tank under ground and connect to it. We did this on our house in Copperas cove for rain gutters. Nicest free lawn sprinkling around.
You could then use the water to sprinkle the rest of the yard, garden,etc. or if your not concerned with water costs and just want to get rid of it- Dry well is the way to go.
 
Another vote for dry well.

Not sure what the rules are in your town, but we have some very strict rules concerning surface water discharge around here. Not all towns have laws such as this, but many are moving towards them.

Towns do not want runoff going into the streets, they want it soaking back into the ground. We have requirements on the amount of impervious surface we can install. If you have too much, you are required to put in a dry well / storm water detention system.

-dave
 

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4knights said:
Since you're in Texas, I'd sink a 1500 gallon tank under ground and connect to it. We did this on our house in Copperas cove for rain gutters. Nicest free lawn sprinkling around.
You could then use the water to sprinkle the rest of the yard, garden,etc. or if your not concerned with water costs and just want to get rid of it- Dry well is the way to go.
Click to expand...


Do you have pics of this and how do you bring the water back up again?

I'm stunned when I read that in *some western states they actually have laws against collecting rain water. We get heavy downpours and I'd love to be able to collect and use more of it but unsure of the logistics. My rain barrels under the gutters aren't enough.
 
YippeeSkippy said:
Do you have pics of this and how do you bring the water back up again?

I'm stunned when I read that in *some western states they actually have laws against collecting rain water. We get heavy downpours and I'd love to be able to collect and use more of it but unsure of the logistics. My rain barrels under the gutters aren't enough.
Click to expand...
Sorry, no pics as we sold that house 20 years ago. Simple to connect to though, you add an extender at the end of your current drain. Most big box stores sell storm drain or French drain pipe. You dig the hole so the lid is just below ground level( maintenance access) drill or cut a 4 or 6 inch access hole for the drain to connect to. Glue or use compression fitting then put a pump of your choice about 2inches from bottom of tank(inside) connect to sprinkler system or a hose. Solar well pumps work fantastic, but so do the $40 sump pumps.
image.jpgi have my rain gutters connected to an above ground tank at our current home and use that to water the front yard. Gravity feed. I'll take a pic tomorrow. YouTube has some very good DIY videos on rainwater harvesting. No need to waste tons of money on high end systems- local farm stores have everything you need for dirt cheap.
 
I use rain barrels. Keeping in the dirt cheap thread, no need to buy a fancy barrel. You want something that is food grade (you don't want to collect water in a barrel that stored chemicals, and then water your lawn with it). Look up your local importer of olives, or an Italian importer. A lot of their stuff comes in heavy duty barrels that are either free, or a few bucks. My rain water smelled like hot cherry peppers for about a month :)

-dave
 
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