# Water pooling on sidewalk after rain



## saxsquad29 (Mar 29, 2015)

Along the west side of the house the sidewalk dips in a couple places and water collects causing a river of water over 10-20ft of sidewalk
It really is just a nuisance for passerby's, but is also starting to kill the grass on the edge of the boulevard. I will post pictures
What can be done to either drain the water or will sidewalk have to be replaced?


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## Aggie67 (Dec 20, 2008)

If that was my sidewalk, I'd have it jacked up so the water doesn't pool anymore. I had a section of sidewalk that didn't so much collect deep pools of water, but constantly left a thin layer of soil on the concrete after a heavy rain or a snowy winter. A few years ago I had a slab jacking contractor raise all of the panels up 2 inches. No more problems now.


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## saxsquad29 (Mar 29, 2015)

Aggie67 said:


> If that was my sidewalk, I'd have it jacked up so the water doesn't pool anymore. I had a section of sidewalk that didn't so much collect deep pools of water, but constantly left a thin layer of soil on the concrete after a heavy rain or a snowy winter. A few years ago I had a slab jacking contractor raise all of the panels up 2 inches. No more problems now.


How much did that cost you?


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## Aggie67 (Dec 20, 2008)

I had 80 feet of sidewalk done, and a couple of concrete panels around my pool. Total cost was $1,100.


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## concretemasonry (Oct 10, 2006)

The tree is probably the major cause of the bad drainage and it will not get any better.

Dick


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## saxsquad29 (Mar 29, 2015)

concretemasonry said:


> The tree is probably the major cause of the bad drainage and it will not get any better.
> 
> Dick


But there's got to be a way to fix it.


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## jimn (Nov 13, 2010)

Who owns it , you or the city? Kind of behaving like a lot of other sidewalks. The tree roots would definitely affect the side walk. So, if you want to fix and you own the tree and the sidewalk , cut down the tree, have root dug out (not just ground), remove the existing side walk and rebuild it to grade. You could just rebuild the sidewalk but with the tree there you will be doing it again in a few years


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,..... Dig a little swale, 1 foot wide, 'n startin' at the top of the concrete, 'round the right side of the tree, out to the curb, or however far it takes to daylight level drain,.....










The sod is to high, dig it out abit,....


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## Msradell (Sep 1, 2011)

Bondo, I'm glad somebody finally gave him the easiest and best answer!


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## Homerepairguy (Aug 1, 2010)

Bondo said:


> Ayuh,..... Dig a little swale, 1 foot wide, 'n startin' at the top of the concrete, 'round the right side of the tree, out to the curb, or however far it takes to daylight level drain,.....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


A good solution but, with all due respect, I would worry about someone tripping due to the swale and then filing a lawsuit. 

How about a drain grate like the larger one in this picture, with a small concrete box below it and then 3 inch PVC pipe buried to the curb. 










Then cut a section of the curb for the PVC pipe and run the pipe out to the street. Rebuild the curb and then cut the PVC pipe even with the curb. Yes it will require clearing off leaves now and then.

I did that (cut the curb, run a ABS pipe and then rebuild the curb) to drain the low spot in our driveway. (Our driveway goes up from the street to the sidewalk, then dips down from the sidewalk to just before our carport and then back up to the carport's floor. That dip is what needed to be drained.) Can't tell the curb was patched unless someone points it out.

HRG


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## maybar47 (7 mo ago)

saxsquad29 said:


> Along the west side of the house the sidewalk dips in a couple places and water collects causing a river of water over 10-20ft of sidewalk
> It really is just a nuisance for passerby's, but is also starting to kill the grass on the edge of the boulevard. I will post pictures
> What can be done to either drain the water or will sidewalk have to be replaced?


Consider conditioning the soil. When there is too much clay in soil, it becomes compacted and instead of seeping into the earth, rain/water puddles on the surface eventually coursing it's way to lower ground, like your sidewalk. Aerate the soil naturally; compost, pine needles & bark, gypsum are cost effective remedies. You can also find products in liquid or pellet form to break through the compacted clay. Hope this helps.


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## Old Thomas (Nov 28, 2019)

Do you own that sidewalk and are you responsible for repairs? Here where sidewalks are present the properties are part of a sidewalk district. A sidewalk district charge is added to the property tax bill and it pays for repairs. I don’t have a sidewalk so my tax dollars don’t pay for sidewalk repairs.


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

8 year old post


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