experience with adding yard drainage basin, 150' run to storm sewer tie in?

[jim9993928]

Hi!

I'm curious if anyone has had similar work done and can share pricing experience on fixing a drainage issue I have in my backyard. And where the folks who do this type of work are listed in the yellow pages.

The distance from the low point of my backyard to that 5-foot-deep existing storm sewer basin would involve 150' Manhattan distance of trenching (less if you cut across the front yard diagonally) , and going under a concrete sidewalk and a concrete curb. I'm envisioning a trencher, and a jackhammer might be the toys needed. Maybe a small backhoe depending on how big these basins are.

The issue I' trying to solve is that during heavy rains, water will pool in my relatively flat backyard and while it never threatens the house, I'd much rather not have a soggy backyard (and dog) most of the spring. The root cause is that there's only 1.5 feet of drop between my backyard and the storm grate 3 houses down that the water is supposed to go to, and settling has occurred over the years. I can't simply build up my yard without making the upstream neighbor's problem even worse (it's possible I can get this upstream neighbor to go in on the cost since it will benefit them as well).

I've talked to the city engineer, and they've said that private property standing water issues are outside their purview, but they reviewed the grading and drainage plan of my home's subdivision and indicated that I could have a private catch basin installed in my back yard and for about $200 total in permit fees, tie into the city storm sewer basin that exists at the front of my house ($100 for the tie in permit, $50 permit to bust up the curb, and $50 permit to bust up a sidewalk square).

I know I can't fit it in the budget in the coming couple of months, so I'd hate to waste a contractor's time to come out and quote, but just want to get a feel for what it might cost so I can start saving, or decide to live with the water.

Thanks for any shared experience or advice on this!

Jim

[DerbyDad03]

How much water is there? Any chance of using dry wells? Some strategically placed 55 gallon drums with holes cut in the bottom would collect (number of drums) x (55 gallons) before it would start to pool.

I sunk a 55 gallon plastic drum right outside my basement door since the bottom is well below grade and my basement used to take on water during torrential downpours. I sunk the drum, covered the area with some patio blocks and I've never had a wet basement since.

[e-mail].> Hi!

[jim9993928]

Thanks for your response.

That's an intriguing idea.... I wonder what a couple of these might do. It's certainly more than 55gal when we get a good downpour, but often I wonder if it's less. I guess how much it helps depends on how porous the ground is already. The ground gets soggy for a long time as the rain builds up before teh pooling occurs which makes me envision the soil getting saturated as a prerequisite. I'm not sure how much delay empty drums would buy me. Hrmm.

So this is an empty drum with holes on top and bottom? Any gravel? I'm having trouble picturing it. It sounds like a good first thing to try since no trenching or plumbing is involved. Where did you get the drum from?

Thanks again for the ideas.

Jim

[buffalobill]