Flood
Watch
Winter
is quickly on its way out the door. Many
people are sad to see it go, while others
have had enough of old man winter and are
eagerly awaiting the warmer spring air.
Looking out your window, I'm sure you have
noticed the water in the streets. Your hoping
all of this water doesn't run into your
basement. The water table is rising and
it seems to be rising all onto your property.
The worst of it hasn't even come yet. The
riverbanks have not crested yet and they
won't for a couple of weeks. There is nothing
that you can do about the rising water tables,
but there are many things you can do to
keep water out of your property. Many homeowners
don't take the time to "water proof"
their yards.
Waterproofing
your property takes a small amount of prior
planning. This is a time of year that is
of concern for a couple of reasons. First,
we have all the snow melting. This past
winter was a particularly brutal one that
left a total accumulation of almost 90 inches.
Second, early spring is naturally a wet
season. April showers bring May flower,
but not when your yard is submerged in water.
The excessive water erodes the landscape
it sits on creating a "less than attractive"
look that homeowners do not want. There
are a few different ways to alleviate these
problems. Sometimes all it takes is re-grading
the property to get the water flowing away
from the yard and/or house. Some properties
need a more drastic change. Drains can be
installed to redirect the water from where
it is flowing or sitting out of the property
to a safe distance from the house. Retention
walls also work well in certain situations.
Here is a brief explanation of each of these
items and how they can effectively improve
your situation.
1.
Re-grading: Often times, the problem is
not the amount of precipitation that we
receive, but the direction that the water
is flowing. Some homebuilders put no thought
into this and the grade of the property
is angled into the house, creating a large
mess in many residents' basements. Re-grading
involves changing the pitch of landscape
away from the house, creating water flow
away from property, most often into the
street's catch basin's.
2.
Drains: Drains are typically installed into
a lawn that is saturated with water. This
may happen as a result of a high water table.
Lawns act like sponges. When they are full,
the water will not go down, it sits on the
top with no place to go. A drain will channel
this water out of your yard lowering the
water below the surface on your property.
There are different types of drains. You
may have French drains installed, which
add a nice effect to the borders of your
house and property, or sub-surface drains,
which are undetectable after job completion.
Not only do drains make your yard livable,
it reduces fungi and mosses that tend to
grow in moist areas. It also greatly reduces
the chance of water flooding your basement.
3.
Retention walls: A retention wall can also
be a method to reduce water build up on
your property. A wall is placed strategically
on the property, typically in an area of
higher elevation to lower elevation. Water,
without the wall, will run down the hill.
With the wall in place, water reaches the
crest of the wall and down the back of the
wall. There are drains installed behind
the wall that collect the water and transport
the water to a desired location, keeping
the water off of the surface. Retention
walls can be constructed with many different
types of materials. It is up to the owner
which style they prefer.
All of these solutions are effective, but
must be specific to the situation. An evaluation
must be made to determine which method is
suitable for your needs. When you are ready
to "flood proof" your property,
feel free to email us at billtompkins@mediaone.net,
or call us at (978) 687-2152. We provide
free estimates and would be happy to provide
you with the piece of mind you are looking
for.
Hopefully
now you have a better understanding of the
irrigation installation process. Usually
this process is completed in one full day
this may vary depending upon the size of
the job. All information on the products
we use and the benefits of having an irrigation
system are located in the irrigation section
of our site. Also feel free to browse our
entire site for any information about the
other services we provide. If you are interested
in having some work performed on your home
or business you may email us by using the
contact us link on our site.
Thank
you and have a great summer,
Tompkins
Landscape and Irrigation Contractors
|