# Clay soil drainage issue



## anneuryzm (Mar 28, 2021)

I think it might be beneficial if I describe our land to begin with.

My family and I just moved to Northern Alabama and purchased a home on 12 acres with a 1/2 acre pond on the west end of the property. Nearly half of our acreage is on a steep, forested hill which the neighbors refer to as "the mountain". There is an underground spring which feeds the pond.

This should come as no surprise to anyone (I'm new to clay soil), but after any sort of rainfall we have both standing water and significant flows of water depending on where you're at in the yard. The water pools in our low points and ever so slowly drains toward the pond.

Now, this is interesting to me and I haven't found much information on how to deal with this issue - after a storm or any type of rainfall, I've found a few areas uphill from my yard where groundwater is literally pouring, flowing through 2-3" holes in the clay to the surface. This is not an insignificant amount of water. The water seems to flow for 4+ days before I'm assuming the water table recedes as the hill drains. The water floods across my property and flows across my driveway like a shallow creek, through the front yard, and thus far has never dried out enough so I can mow before the next rain. My dogs cannot go into the back yard without requiring a bath because of the soupy, soggy mess.

Have any of you experienced something like this or have any idea on how I can combat the water surfacing from underground? The previous owner tried to run a length of channel drain perpendicular to one of the flows beside our shed and it immediately packs full of clay and is rendered useless. I'm not sure a french drain is the correct solution, and even so I don't know if it would be effective in clay soil.

Sorry for the long first post, and I appreciate all of your time!


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## TheNeighbor (Mar 19, 2021)

I'm waiting to hear this reply with you. I'm on clay as well so I get it.....it will definitely drain water for days after a good rainfall.


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