12 Ways To Get Rid Of Standing Water In Your Yard

It’s always a drag to be dealing with water drainage issues in your yard. However, not dealing with it can cause problems with your home down the road. 

Foundations are particularly vulnerable when it comes to standing water. Making sure a good water management system is in place is essential for preserving the integrity of your home and foundation. 

So…what can be done about it? 

Read on to learn about the Top 12 reasons water could be infiltrating your property and how to best fix the issues.

Problem #1 -Poor roof water drainage 

When dealing with standing water on your property, we have to work from top to bottom.

Understanding how water is moving and where it is getting trapped is essential for creating solutions. This is where a water management system is needed. 

So, what do we mean by a roof water management system?

The biggest part of a water management system is clean fully functioning gutters and downspouts with extensions. 

It might not seem like a big deal, but proper water drainage is essential. When rainwater falls straight from your roof to the ground beside your home, it can soak the soil around your foundation. As the soil becomes saturated, it puts added pressure on your foundation walls, which can eventually cause leaks, cracks, and even bowing.

So, with that being said…here’s your roof water management checklist.

Roof water management checklist:

1. Clean working gutters: The photo below is a great example of a gutter filled with debris versus a clean gutter. Gutters are pointless if they cannot do their job. When they are clogged with debris, water will become backed up and can actually spill over the sides and land around your foundation.

2. Downspouts: Downspouts are important for draining the water collected by gutters. Gutters will carry rain water to the downspout where it can be shuttled down the side of the building and away from the foundation. It’s surprisingly common (and so cringy) to see broken downspouts discharging water right next to a home’s foundation.

See the photo below. 

Photo 1 shows a gutter with a missing downspout. This can create an issue with water pooling around your foundation. Photo 2 shows a functioning downspout. 

3.Downspout Extensions: A downspout extension is an attachment to your downspout responsible for moving water away from the foundation of the home.

The above photo shows a downspout with a missing extension. Notice how the water dumps right around the foundation.

The photo above shows a downspout with a working extension. The extension will carry water away from the home’s foundation. 

Problem #2 – Poor grading around home

Grading is part of a good water management system as well. Without it, water ends up sitting where you don’t want it to. Hence the standing water. 

Worst case scenario, it’s sitting right next to your home. To learn more about the consequences of standing water around your foundation, click here. 

So, what exactly is “good” grading? 

The International Residential Code calls for at least a 6” drop in elevation within the first 10 feet of the foundation, walkways, and driveway. 

This is called a positive slope and helps to prevent water from standing close to the home.

On the other hand, a negative slope is responsible for trapping water around the foundation, walkway or driveways and can cause some real problems.

If you know that you have a negative grade situation at your house, check out this video for a solution.

Problem #3 -Landscape borders

Are you surprised that landscape borders made the list? You would be shocked how often these little buggers cause drainage issues.

We consider a landscape border anything used to border plants that is ultimately trapping water. 

See the examples below.

Landscape borders like the ones shown above can prevent water from draining away from your foundation.

You can still have flower beds and landscaping around your home, but it’s important to maintain a positive slope away from the foundation and avoid edging or other barriers that trap water against the house.

The photo below shows an ideal way to plant flowers and keep a positive slope.

The landscape slopes downward and the border is NOT holding water against the foundation.

Problem #4 – Bad subsoils

Subsoils are a pretty big deal. Let’s define what they are before getting into it. 

Subsoils are the layers of soil beneath the surface that support your home’s foundation.

Their composition determines how well water drains and how stable your foundation remains over time. Poor drainage or expansive subsoils can contribute to foundation movement, cracking, and other structural issues.

One of these expansive soils we see often in the midwest is clay. Clay is made of tiny particles which hold water easily. When these soils become saturated they expand greatly. This can put a lot of pressure on your foundation walls as well as prevent moisture from draining off your property. 

How do you know what subsoils you have?

Well, you could guess based upon the area you live in. These clay soils are very common in the Minneapolis area so it’s likely that your yard is clay. However, if you want to be sure, you could hire a professional to perform a soil test. 

What’s the solution? 

If poor subsoils were used to backfill around your home’s foundation, the best solution is a soil correction. In some cases, this is truly the only way to remedy ongoing water issues. These are not cheap, but are a long term fix that prevents water from slowly damaging your foundation.

What is the best subsoil to use? 

Recycled asphalt combined with concrete, known as con-bit, is the absolute best subsoil you could use. It does not hold water and compacts much better than clay does, providing support to a home, driveway or garage. Since water is allowed to filter through the soil, the soil is much more stable and will not shrink and expand the way other soils can. This will ultimately lead to less standing water, swampy landscape, and a stronger foundation. 

In general, it is best to hire a professional, such as a structural engineer, with knowledge on drainage systems who can look at your property holistically and create a drainage plan that addresses your property’s unique needs. 

The following list will provide you with the worst and best subsoils:

Problem #5- Hardpan

Hardpan is a thick layer of soil that can be found underneath the topsoil layer. The earth is compacted so tightly that water cannot penetrate. This can occur from heavy traffic from people or machinery, drought or improper watering. In some cases the hardpan is formed by deposits such as iron oxide or calcium carbonate.

Why is this bad? 

Well, for one, hardpan is almost impervious to water. This means that drainage or rain water may sit on top of the soil instead of being absorbed. Standing water is a nuisance, but also can harm plant life because roots may not be able to penetrate through the soil. Also, deep rooted plants/trees may not be able to receive water or nutrients at all since the soil is compacted so tightly.

The consensus? In order to minimize standing water and have a healthy plant life and soil microbiome, hardpan needs to be dealt with. 

Signs that you have hardpan: 

• Standing water
• Drainage issues
• Plants and vegetation failing to thrive

What can you do? 

If you want to be sure that you have hardpan you can use a soil tester. If you find a hardened layer, you have hardpan. Or, if you find a layer of soil where all the plant’s roots start growing horizontally, you have hardpan. 

Watch this video to learn how to fix hardpan in your lawn:

Problem #6 – Living on a Low Spot

Unfortunately, you cannot control if your home is located at the bottom of a hill or low elevation. 

Your property may be acting like a catch basin for all the water from higher elevations. If this is the case, you’ve probably noticed foundation movement over time (like the homeowner in the photos above) or just standing water in general. 

You may not be able to control the location of your home, but you can control how you deal with the water that is being funneled to it. 

If you intend to fix the issue yourself, first determine where the water is coming from. Is the issue truly from water at a higher elevation or is there something else going on? Once you have a clear map of the water pathways on your property you can start to form a plan. 

Step 1)  No matter what, the grading around your foundation should be dealt with first. Make sure there is a positive slope with a 6” fall in elevation within the first 10 feet of the foundation. This will ensure that water stays away from the structural foundation walls and basement. 

Step 2)  If water seems to be running off of a hill right into your yard, you might want to consider: 

• French Drain: A french drain is a trench, filled with gravel, that holds a perforated pipe capable of redirecting water. This pipe may move the water to a storm drain, dry well, or another suitable exit point. Be sure to talk with your local Department of Public Works to ensure your water exit point is acceptable. You do not want to get into trouble with your city or upset your neighbors if water was suddenly being pumped into their yard.

• Dry Well: A dry well is an underground structure filled with rocks that slowly disperses water into the surrounding soil. Most residential dry wells are approximately 4 feet wide by 4 feet deep. Gravity is used to direct water from the house to a lower point in the yard where the drywell is buried. Instead of water pooling on the surface of your yard, it can now be carried to an underground structure that releases water slowly into the surrounding yard.

• Rain Garden: A rain garden is a plant bed designed to absorb and filter runoff water from rain. Instead of rain water rushing into your yard and taking days to soak in, a rain garden will act like a sponge to collect the water and slowly release it into the surrounding soil. These can be strategically placed at the bottom of hills, near driveways, or near other sources of runoff water. If you plan to install your own rain garden click here for a step-by-step guide.

• Retaining Wall: The above considerations are simply ideas of what your property may need. The best way to be certain you are attacking the project from the right angle is to hire a professional. A pro can give you options and work with your budget to implement the best water management plan for your unique situation.

The above considerations are simply ideas of what your property may need. The best way to be certain you are attacking the project from the right angle is to hire a professional. A pro can give you options and work with your budget to implement the best water management plan for your unique situation.

Problem #7- High Water Table

What if your standing water is not coming from surface water but is actually a subsurface water problem? Well, you may have an issue with a high water table. 

What is a water table? 

Did you know that large amounts of water are stored in the ground? Most of this water is from rain that seeps deep into the earth over time. This deep saturated zone is known as groundwater. Above this layer is the unsaturated zone, where only small varying amounts of water are present. The uppermost layer of the saturated zone, right before the unsaturated zone begins is called the water table.  

See photo below.

What factors influence a water table? 

• Weather
• Topography
• Ground cover
• Geology
• Land use 

A water table becomes elevated when water input exceeds water output.

This can occur from: 

• Heavy rains
• Living near a body of water such as a lake, river, or swamp
• Excess water draining from higher elevations
• Soil type 

If you are struggling with standing water due to a high water table, you may need to consider hiring a professional, such as a structural engineer (with the know-how), to provide you with a scope to install a drainage system that will work best for your property. There is also the possibility that you have a false high water table which can occur from poor soils. Depending on the severity of the issue you may need to install a sump pump system, soil correction, or other yard drainage system.

Problem #8 -Underground Springs

Underground springs can create serious drainage and foundation problems. This is not a project you should tackle yourself. If left unaddressed, an underground spring can cause persistent standing water, saturate the surrounding soil, and place excessive pressure on your foundation—potentially leading to deterioration, cracking, and bowing over time.

Clues that you live on an underground spring: 

• Wet yards that never seem to dry out (even when there is no rain) 
• High amounts of insects, birds, or animal tracks near the wet area
• Very dense vegetation in wet areas compared to other parts of the property
• An abundance of worms, snakes or other invertebrate species near the wet area
• Water seepage when digging down with a shovel 

Check out this video of a builder discovering they’ve built on an underground spring.

Depending on the situation, a professional, like a structural engineer, may suggest water management systems such as trenches, drains/drain beds, or exterior sumps and baskets. There may even be a way to divert the water source to a different location. Regardless, expect a headache. This is no easy task to take on.

Problem #9 -Run-Off Water

Even water must follow the laws of gravity. Any water that does not get absorbed into the soil as groundwater will start to flow downhill as runoff. Run-off water in residential and industrial areas picks up harmful chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, dirt, and bacteria which eventually ends up in our rivers, lakes, and streams. It’s important to minimize this run-off to avoid standing water in our yards, but also to minimize the effects of water pollution. 

Here are some things we can do: 

• Minimize paved surfaces: Paved surfaces prevent water from soaking into the ground, becoming naturally filtered and stored as groundwater. Fact: “Due to the solid surfaces like pavement and rooftops, a typical city block generates five times more runoff than a forested area of the same size (source)”
• Replace: Instead of paved driveways use small paving blocks, porous paving asphalt, cobbles or gravel. Paved sidewalks and patios can be replaced with wooden decking, grave, brick, paving stones, mulch, or grass.
• Install a rain garden: Rain gardens are a fabulous way to absorb standing water, naturally purify it, and slowly release it back into the soil. 
• Install a dry well: Dry wells are a great way to temporarily store run-off water and slowly release it back into the soil. You can read more on these in Problem #6.
• Install a french drain that leads to a field: Installing a french drain or some other form of drainage system that allows water to disperse over a larger area of land is another way to avoid contaminated run-off from ending up in the storm sewer system.

Problem #10 – Sidewalk and/or Driveway Dams

Sidewalk and driveway installs are crucial to preventing standing water and other drainage issues in your yard. 

Factors that Affect proper sidewalk/driveway function: 

• Soils
• Correct install
• Positioning of gutters/downspouts
• Design
• Grade

Hire a professional, such as a structural engineer, with knowledge on aggregate soils, drainage, and grade to help solve this issue.

Problem #11 – Watering too much

Here is another overly simple one for you…overwatering. Yes, it can be a problem. It saturates the soil, leaving no room for additional water to soak in. The excess water pools on the surface, creating standing water and increasing the risk of drainage and foundation issues.

A gold standard rule of thumb is to water your lawn one time weekly. This is because grass requires about 1-1.5” of rain per week. 

To learn more about lawn watering tips for Minnesota, click here.

Problem #12 – Poor Landscaping Design

Sometimes, the way your yard is landscaped can contribute to drainage issues. If flower beds, retaining walls, or garden features are designed without proper water flow in mind, they can trap water and prevent it from flowing away from your property.

Signs of Poor Landscaping Design:

• Water collecting around landscape features like flower beds, ponds, or raised garden beds.
• Soggy areas near retaining walls or hardscapes.
• Plant roots that are constantly waterlogged, leading to root rot or plant failure.

How to Fix It:

Install Drains or Gravel Beds: If certain areas of your landscaping tend to hold water, adding drains, gravel beds, or other water-permeable materials can help water disperse more effectively.

Reevaluate Your Landscape Design: Work with a landscape professional to ensure your garden layout promotes proper drainage. This could involve adjusting slopes, adding drains, or reconfiguring plant beds.

Wrapping Up Ways to Get Rid Of Standing Water In Your Yard

Standing water is not just a yard issue—it can become a foundation issue if left unresolved. The key to preventing damage is understanding where the water is coming from and creating a proper drainage plan to move it away from your home. When in doubt, a professional evaluation can help protect your property and prevent costly repairs.

cIf you still have questions, please give Complete Building Solutions a call at 763-544-3355.