# Water Pooling between Lawn and Driveway



## ShotCallerWes (Apr 3, 2017)

I recently purchased a home in Asheville, NC and I'm having a bit of trouble with water ponding in a low area between my driveway and lawn (See picture). To beat it all, we re on a septic system and the area in this picture is exactly where my 1,000 gallon concrete tank is buried. (Only about 2 feet deep.) We had the tank dug up and inspected prior to purchasing the home around 2 months ago. 

It seems that the previous owners didn't have an issue driving over the tank, so this area has become a natural part of the driveway. However, I decided to back-fill it with some dirt and then applied grass seed in order to make it part of the lawn and to discourage people from driving over it since that's not good for the tank nor safe. Unfortunately a heavy rain came down 2 days later and washed a good bit of the area out. 

Am I correct in thinking that I could simply fix this ponding issue by back-filling with enough dirt, then getting some grass established before it gets ponded up and washed out again? Will this help my problem? Are there any obvious alternatives?

Thanks! (Sorry the picture is sideways. Can't figure out how to fix this.)


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

> Am I correct in thinking that I could simply fix this ponding issue by back-filling with enough dirt, then getting some grass established before it gets ponded up and washed out again? Will this help my problem?


Ayuh,.... That depends,......

How much of an area drains into this depression,..??
When full, where does it drain too,..??
If ya fill it with dirt, 'n get it growin', will the water comin' to it, go around, or back-up elsewhere,..??


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## ShotCallerWes (Apr 3, 2017)

So far, it's just been draining into the ground slowly, but today I dug a quick ditch into the gravel across the driveway to help move the water away and get it to drain faster.

Here's a few more pics of the area. The yard is relatively flat and there is no way that the water can be drained back into the yard. It would need to go across the driveway where it's absorbed better.

I'm just hoping that I can bring in some dirt to raise the depression high enough to get water to run over the driveway where it soaks up pretty quickly..


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## Joeycarnuba (Mar 3, 2016)

If it were me, I'd probably bring in more fill, or perhaps you can install a catch basin at the low spot and drain it across your driveway to a lower elevation, assuming the other side of the driveway slopes away from your home.


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,.... In this picture,....








It looks like a swale from yer shovel to the culvert under the road, would drain the entire front yard,....

In this picture,...









I'd rake the stone from the far side, over to back up the dirt yer gonna fill the hole with, cuttin' the low-side abit lower, 'n cut the crown completely outa the center of the driveway,....


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## ShotCallerWes (Apr 3, 2017)

I wound up shoveling a cubic yard of topsoil into the area today after work. I decided to lay a bit of a retaining wall around the perimeter to define the driveway and hold the dirt back should a heavy rain come. Hopefully I'll be able to get some grass seed on it tomorrow. I'm hoping I can get some grass roots in there before another downpour comes.


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## Cedrus (Feb 25, 2011)

Where is the leach field in relation to your improvements ?


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## ShotCallerWes (Apr 3, 2017)

That's a question that I would also like to know the answer to. I've tried what I could to locate leach field pipes, but to no avail. The yard is relatively flat, but actually has a slight up-slope away from the tank. Since the septic tank is only about a foot or two deep, I can only imagine that the leach field pipes run a little deeper into the ground at an angle in order do drain downwards.


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## Cedrus (Feb 25, 2011)

The last thing you want to do is.....mess up your leach field. Why not visit county office and find the plans for your septic system. Why not ask the septic person you had over....to locate your leach field. There could be a concrete inspection/clean out box between your tank and the start of the leach field. Can you locate ?


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## ShotCallerWes (Apr 3, 2017)

I did some pretty exhaustive searching prior to purchasing this home, and there are no plans or sketches of the system to be found anywhere. I'm pretty sure I have more knowledge of system than the original owners at this point. They seemed fairly clueless. 

The whole point of this project was to eliminate the low area that's collecting water during heavy rain, as well as to provide some security for the septic tank so that it's not being accidentally or carelessly driven over by guests. 

The septic guys only could show me where the tank is, and where the hook-up pipe was (under the deck). Luckily this add-on area I've constructed is exactly where the 1,000 gallon tank is located. I don't thinks there's any way that the leach field begins draining 5 feet from the tank.

(Here's an idea of where my tank sits.)


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## Cedrus (Feb 25, 2011)

I can find/trace my septic leach field lines with this old trick: Get two 16 inch copper rods and bend both 4 inches... into an L shape. Place one 4 inch piece in each hand, loosely, and walk the area.....They will move horizontally when they find water lines or leach field lines. Note this and keep walking... and keep a map as you go. Pretty sure you can find what you seek.


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