Serious Drainage problems - drastic measures?!

[onlymechris]

Hi. I moved into my house about a year ago and have finally got round to sorting the garden out. The garden is relatively low in comparison to the large green out the back (and to my neighbours gardens). It also lays incredibly wet/waterlogged during the winter. I spoke to my neighbour about it and she seems to think there use to be a pond there many years ago (?). Now the garden is all clay (very dense), and I took it upon myself (as the grass was a mess) to remove the current turf - which i have done. The plan was to then lay about 15 tonnes of top soil (to raise the levels) and to create a series of pipes off to a soak away and then turf. I dug out a large soak away (aprox 4ft x 4ft) and filled with rubble, however the following day we had terrential rain all day. Subsequently the unturfed lawn was between 2-6 inches deep in water, and the soak away was fall! The garden was one large shallow pond! Five days later and there is still large amounts of sitting water and the area is a mud/sludge bath. I've almost come to reason that the soak away is just simply not suffice and I realise that if I want the sort the garden out properly then I somehow need to take the water away. My only other suggestion, which i hope someone could comment upon (good or bad) is to run a series of drainage pipes into one main pipe and then run that into my man-hole cover into the system (by the house). Now this would certainly take the water and hopefully the drainage problems away from my garden, but I dont know the legalities of this. I know I could do this quite easily but I dont know whether I should be doing this or not. Does anyone know of any reason(s) why I cannot do this, or suggest any other ways of sorting out this dreadful problem.

Yours in despair
Chris

 

[Thermo]

You are on the right track with the land drainage system. there is no point in putting a soakaway in clay, the water wont go anywhere. You will need to talk to your local water board about discharging the surface water away in that volume. A system of perforated drainage pipes in gravel backfilled trenches should do the trick

 

[onlymechris]

I'm planning a series of perferated pipes like you say - it's going to be one hell of job as I have to break through about 4 metres of concrete path to channel the pipe away. I know for a fact that drainage water from next doors guttering ends up going through my manhole so i presume there is no problem running this type of water through here. I'm reluctant to call the water board as I worried they will put their foot down on my plans - and then I will have to take up fishing - as that's all my garden will be good for!!!

 

[breezer]

and then I will have to take up fishing - as that's all my garden will be good for!!!

you could always charge people to fish in your garden

i would still call them you may encounter probs when you sell your house

 

[Antwerpman]

only if anyone knew about it....