By Ryan Sarvis, Landscape Designer
Johnson’s Landscaping Service, Inc.
www.JohnsonsLandscaping.com

With record setting rain fall in May, June, and now December of 2009, many of our clients now realize that their landscapes have low areas with “standing” water.   Some clients also live on the bottom of a hill and receive their neighbor’s storm water run-off.  This water can be damaging to lawns, trees, and shrubs.  In addition, standing water provides breeding grounds for mosquitoes. To keep our basements and low lying areas dry and to maintain a healthy landscape that is bug free, we must address these issues as soon as possible.

There are several “green” solutions that may be implemented to solve these issues. These solutions include dry wells, Flo-Wells, piping the water to the street, and water gardens.  
                                   
A drywell is a gravel pit below ground where the water enters the pit and leaches into the subsoil.  Allowing storm water from your property to run on to the street is damaging to our environment because of the fertilizer, animal feces, silt, and other things that mix with water runoff that enter the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.   A word of caution:  dry wells can become clogged with silt, sediment and gutter debris that will cut the life of the dry well to 5-6 years, so you will need to clear it from time to time.

Johnson's Landscaping Service, Inc. (www.JohnsonsLandscaping.com) recently has used a new product named the Flo Well, which is a storm water leaching system. This is a 49 gallon container with perforated holes throughout, and it is installed below ground with one foot of drainage gravel surrounding the unit. This can be used in a variety of ways, including collecting water from low areas, downspouts, catch basins, and French drains. The top has an optional drain grate to capture surface water in low areas. The system allows the water in the Flo-Well to leach into the soil and prevents harmful contaminants from entering local creeks and streams.
Drywells and Flo-Wells work well for water in your yard.  Water in your basement may need a different solution.  Many times, water in your basement can be solved by grading and drainage work along your foundation.

Finally, the Landscape Designers of Johnson’s Landscaping Service, Inc. can design and install a water garden for the space where your yard currently has standing water.  For more information on water gardens, link to the following blog on gardens that support the Chesapeake Bay, http://www.jlsinc.net/view-by-tag/bayscaping/.
Johnson's Landscaping Service, Inc. has years of experience in diagnosing, correcting, and solving drainage problems faced by our clients.  Contact us today so we can implement cost effective and permanent solutions for your water woes!

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