Have you noticed soggy spots in your landscape and thought “Where does all this water even come from? ” Here in the Tualatin area, we sometimes may want to blame the rain on everything dealing with damp, but that may not actually be the cause.
Soil Conditions
Sometimes you may have water pooling in spots because the soil is so compacted that there is no percolation rate. The water pools because there is no way for it to be absorbed into the ground. Maybe the soil has become hard and dry because of heat or maybe it is heavy in the clay, which doesn’t drain well. (Milwaukie, Clackamas, and Gladstone I am looking at you and your clay soil.)
Natural Water
There are places in the Portland area that have more natural groundwater. This can be a high-water table or underground springs. While people love the fact that PDX is lush and leafy, sometimes the naturally occurring water that gives us our vibrant vegetation plays merry havoc on our landscape or foundations.
Run-Off
Maybe you have lived in your beautiful Sherwood house for several years with no issue, but now that a new subdivision is going in you are noticing more water around your property. Our landscapes are affected by those around us. Neighbors watering their plants or new roads (which absorb no water) and new houses going in (with grading and foundations) can change the course of where the water flows. While mitigations are in place by engineers to reduce this, sometimes as homeowners we still have to deal with the “acceptable” changes.
Now What?
What do I do with the excess water? The answer is: drainage. There are more natural options such as a rain garden, where you let the water drain to a specific location where you plant water loving plants. There are options to install perforated tubing with river rock on top to make a French drain channeling the water to a catch basin or drywell. If you would rather not have your beautiful lawn disturbed a conveyance drainage line might be the best option.
With our experts who have work in the area for years we are happy to provide drainage solutions for the excess water you see around your landscape.
