Why your backyard holds water after every storm (and how to fix it)

If you're in a newer subdivision in Northlake, Haslet, Justin or north Fort Worth and your backyard stays wet for two days after rain, you're not alone. It is one of the most common calls we get.

Why it happens

Our soil is mostly clay. Clay soaks up water slowly and sheds a hard rain instead of absorbing it. During construction, lots get graded with heavy equipment, the clay gets compacted even tighter, and a thin layer of topsoil and sod goes on top. If the grade is even slightly off, water has nowhere to go.

The bigger worry is water sitting against the foundation. Clay swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and slab foundations move with it.

How to read your yard

• Water pools in a low spot in the middle of the yard: usually a grading fix.
• Water comes from the neighbor's yard or uphill: needs a drain to intercept it.
• Water pools at the foundation or under downspouts: gutter extensions and buried lines, plus regrading.
• Side yard stays soggy: very common; often a swale was filled in during fence or AC installation.

The four fixes

1. Regrading. Reshape the soil so it falls away from the house, about six inches in the first ten feet. Often the cheapest fix and the one that matters most.
2. Downspout lines. Bury solid pipe from each downspout to a pop-up emitter well away from the house.
3. French drains. A trench with fabric, gravel and perforated pipe that collects water underground and carries it off. For water you can't regrade away.
4. Dry creek beds. A surface channel lined with river rock. Moves a lot of water and looks like part of the landscape.

One rule: the water has to go somewhere legal: the street, a drainage easement, or a dry well. Not the neighbor's yard.

See our drainage service or ask for a drainage look.

More guides

• A month-by-month lawn calendar for North Texas
• Bermuda, St. Augustine or zoysia: which grass for your North Texas yard
• When is the best time to lay sod in North Texas?
• How much does sod installation cost in North Texas?
• What does a French drain cost? (And when you don't need one)
• Lawn mowing prices around Rhome and north Fort Worth
• Why is my St. Augustine turning yellow or brown?
• 20 tough plants for North Texas yards (that survive August)
• How long should you run your sprinklers in North Texas?
• When to trim trees and shrubs in North Texas (and when not to)