Surface water flooding in a garden

Garden Flooding After Heavy Rain

Garden flooding has three possible sources: rain falling on your garden that cannot soak away, water arriving from higher ground, or roof and drive water discharging in the wrong place.

Tracing which one you have during rainfall is worth more than any amount of guesswork afterwards.

Resin-bound Surfacing work by Gardenscape in Essex

Find the source first

Watch the garden in a downpour and note where water enters, where it travels and where it stops. Check that downpipes and gullies actually connect, and that they are not discharging onto a lawn.

Where water comes from a neighbouring property, it becomes a conversation as well as an engineering problem.

Slowing and storing water

Permeable surfacing, gravel margins, rain gardens and planted swales all reduce run-off at source. On clay, storage matters as much as infiltration because the ground accepts water slowly.

A soakaway needs to be sized for the catchment and sited away from foundations.

Protecting the house

Ground levels adjacent to the building should fall away and stay well below the damp proof course. A threshold channel drain with a proper outfall is the standard defence where levels are tight.

Raising patios over the years without checking that level is a surprisingly common cause of water at the back door.

Frequently asked questions

Can I discharge surface water to the foul drain?

Generally no — it is normally prohibited and can overload the system.

Do soakaways work in clay?

They work but must be considerably larger, and sometimes attenuation and a controlled outfall suit better.

Will a permeable drive stop flooding?

It stops your drive contributing to it, which is often a large part of the problem.

Garden underwater every winter?

We design permeable surfaces and drainage that cope with Essex rainfall.

Request a drainage plan Call 07535 661664