# Designing a dry well for yard drainage



## Badfish740 (Mar 24, 2014)

The back corner of my yard has always been a problem.  My entire 1/4 acre lot is a gentle slope toward the southwestern corner.  This coupled with a layer of heavy clay right underneath the topsoil makes for a swamp that only dries out in the dead of summer.  Since I have neighbors behind and on both sides I can't dig a ditch to drain it, so I'm contemplating an underground retention basin or dry well to give the water somewhere to go below the surface and then hopefully, slowly dissipate into the ground.  Here is what the spot looks like now.

Looking south:






Looking west-the hole you see is about 2' deep, dug with a hand auger.  I wanted to try to get a feel for the soil.  After about 8" of topsoil it's nothing but nasty red clay with bits of rock mixed in.  I couldn't get any further with the hand digger after 24".  As you can also see, my next door neighbor has a 10x10 shed on a slab right in the same area-curiously he has no drainage issue on his side at all.  The neighbor directly behind me does, but his property slopes to a drainage ditch along the road in his front yard so at least he has that option.






Looking southeast toward the rest of the yard-you can see the change in the grass which corresponds with the level of wetness in the ground.  Basically the wet area is where it's perpetually green:






As you can see its basically a mudpit.  Its impossible to mow (I usually go in there with the weedeater) and its pretty much unusable.  The dog loves it of course   Anyway, I'd like to reclaim it by eventually putting down a layer of stone and moving the firepit, picnic table, etc...back there, but until the drainage issue is addressed, I can't do anything.  Here's the plan:

Basically I'm planning on creating a large volume of space underground so that the water can percolate down through the topsoil and a layer of rock, into six barrels.  My hope is that the volume will be large enough so that after a good rain the topsoil will be dry, and the water will have drained down into the barrels below, where it can slowly work it's way into the soil. 

I'd first start by renting a small excavator and digging a pit in the back corner of the yard, about 7' long, by 5' wide, by 5' deep.  Once the pit is dug, I'll line the bottom and sides with landscaping fabric.  This will keep water from washing dirt into the rock and clogging it.  After lining the pit with fabric, a 6" layer of 3/4" washed stone would be spread on the bottom.  On top of the stone bed, six 55 gallon polyethylene drums would be placed in two rows of three.  The drums would be perforated with 1/4" holes on the tops, bottoms, and sides with the goal being to create as many openings as possible without seriously weakening the drum structurally.  Once the drums are placed, the hole will be backfilled with 3/4" washed stone so that the drums are surrounded on the top bottom and sides by a 6" layer of stone.  Once 6" of stone is placed on top of the drums, the stone would be covered with landscaping fabric, topsoil, and sod.  Here's a crude rendering I came up with:






My gut tells me it will work, but I'm putting it out for a sanity check.  The one caveat I think of is that I'll have to treat it like a septic tank/field and never drive over it, but I don't usually take the truck back that far in the yard anyway, and as I said, the plan is to make it an outdoor picnic area long term.  People around here commonly use poly barrels as drywells for their downspouts, and underground protected from UV rays they should last forever.  Thoughts?


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## razerface (Mar 24, 2014)

be easier to haul in some dirt,,,grade out the low spot. Does not look like it would take much.

You drain it on top to the neighbors,,,his drainage will take it from there. 
Looks simple from here!


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## Highbeam (Mar 24, 2014)

You are making a mistake. Do not proceed with your plan.

The clay soils prevent water from ever soaking in and going away. By digging a hole you are not providing opportunity for infiltration but instead creating a bathtub for water to accumulate. Would make a great place for a fish pond. That is another option if you insist on digging.

Instead, fill the hole. Letting this water runoff downgrade as it is doing right now. Thing is, right now, before it can runoff downgrade it has to fill your current shallow bath tub. You will not be increasing the runoff, just eliminating the bath tub.

If you had dug down and found free draining sand or gravel then things would be different and your test hole wouldn't be full of water. Your test hole is proof that creating a bigger hole will just provide storage for more water and will not make the water go away.

Fill the low spot.


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## Badfish740 (Mar 24, 2014)

Highbeam said:


> If you had dug down and found free draining sand or gravel then things would be different and your test hole wouldn't be full of water. Your test hole is proof that creating a bigger hole will just provide storage for more water and will not make the water go away.



Is it worth going to more trouble to dig deeper and see if there is indeed sand or gravel?  The hole I dug is barely two feet deep.  If I were to proceed with this plan I'd be digging down at least 5'.  If I were to hit sand or gravel at four feet, this would work, correct?



Highbeam said:


> Fill the low spot.



Let's say on the other hand I'm sitting on top of 25' of clay and there is no feasible way to drain the area via a dry well.  What do I have hauled in?  "Clean fill" and then spread topsoil over it with some sod?


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## ironpony (Mar 24, 2014)

yes and yes. Highbeam is spot on.


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## billb3 (Mar 24, 2014)

You might be better off trying to find a spot in the yard with no clay t drain it off to and have your dry well there.
Do your own little perc test filling a hole with water to see how long it takes to drain.
If you don't find at least  a draining layer in that clay you really haven't gained anything.
Even with the barrels.

How much of that roof shed is draining into your yard ?

You can't drain into someone else's yard here.
I asked my neighbor to turn his shed drains sideways rather than have the long pipes dumping his shed roof onto my property and he told me he could do anything he wanted and to go f myself. Town inspector showed up and gave him 30 days to put in dry wells on his shed.  Had to pull a permit and be inspected. Haven't had a pond in the yard since.


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## Highbeam (Mar 24, 2014)

Often, that clay layer can be 80 feet deep before you hit another soil type. I wouldn't chase it much farther than you have but if you had a thin clay lense and were able to break through to good free draining material under it then you certainly could use that as an infiltration well. The risk with this is that you are introducing surface junk like dog crap into a perviously protected layer of groundwater. Maybe that bothers you, maybe not.

I would tend to fill the hole with something pretty similar to the surrounding soils to encourage water to keep on moving overland. If you filled it with clean gravel then the water would still accumlate there but you wouldn't see it, it might not heal up as quickly. Just be sure that it is not a clean (washed) material like drain rock, you want the fines.

Ah, draining water onto your neighbors. I think you, and even Bill, will find that you are not only allowed but required to allow surface runoff to continue as it did in nature. Just as you can't redirect runoff onto a dry neighbor, you also can't redirect runoff away from a wetland. The idea is to minimize your effect on the natural condition. Filling a hole in clay will not increase the runoff. Once that hole is full of water, each drop of water that enters is forced out of the other end. You are typically required to disperse concentrated runoff so that when it crosses the property line it is in the same state as it would be naturally. That's what happened with the shed, he hadn't dispersed his concentrated runoff which takes quite a distance.


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## Highbeam (Mar 24, 2014)

With those small lots and close neighbors I would just get 2 yards of material in my pickup truck. Dump it, spread it out quickly, and seed it on a Saturday and hope it's enough. If not, do another load in a few weeks. This is small scale landscaping, not filling your property. Some people have beauty bark dumped on their lots, you're having a small delivery of top soil placed there.

And yes, I get 2 cubic yards of gravel loaded into my pickup at a time. It's a one ton. You might not have a one ton so it might take a couple of trips.


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## ewdudley (Mar 24, 2014)

Tile off with perforated tile 18-24" deep  into a 6-8 ft deep well and pump out from there, assuming you have someplace appropriate to discharge it. It works in the Netherlands.


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## osagebow (Mar 24, 2014)

I agree with filling it, but you might check a geologic map of your area. I have heavy clay, but it's on top of fractured sandstone. A small drywell of culvert tile drains my whole yard. French drains running everywhere into it.


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## granpajohn (Mar 24, 2014)

osagebow said:


> I agree with filling it, but you might check a geologic map of your area..



If you want to do that, use this. (Click the green button and follow the directions):

http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm

ETA: It's free even though you use a shopping cart.
SCS became NRCS and stopped publishing paper book soil surveys, thus requiring the use of this web tool by everyone. Long story.


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## homebrewz (Mar 24, 2014)

Geologic maps and soil maps tend to be pretty general and are good for areas of 100 acres or more. I think you would get more information by talking to any neighbors that have been there a long time, as they may remember some basements being dug if the neighborhood is recent. As said above, it could be a clay lens or it could be much thicker than that. Any soil outcrops nearby can help too where you can look at the strata. I like the perk test idea as it might give you clues as to what the strata is like without a lot of effort.


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## semipro (Mar 24, 2014)

The soil maps won't likely be of much help for the reasons homebrewz mentioned.
You're not on septic are you?  Looks like the kind of neighborhood to have sewers but thought I'd check.
If it were my place I'd consider a nice planting bed there with wet loving plants like canus.  The evapotranspiration from the plants will dewater the soil.


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## Highbeam (Mar 25, 2014)

I have had the opposite experience with soil survey data. I have been absolutely freaking amazed at how precise and accurate the information is. Down to the foot. I'm in "the business" and work with soil information all the time, we depend on the soil survey data before trusting a site dug test pit. It is freakishly amazing that this level of soils data has been available for so many decades. I don't know how they did it. I own a large piece of vacant land in a remote area. Undeveloped. The soil survey was accurate within feet of soil changes.


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## M1sterM (Mar 25, 2014)

Highbeam said:


> With those small lots and close neighbors I would just get 2 yards of material in my pickup truck. Dump it, spread it out quickly, and seed it on a Saturday and hope it's enough. If not, do another load in a few weeks. This is small scale landscaping, not filling your property. Some people have beauty bark dumped on their lots, you're having a small delivery of top soil placed there.
> 
> And yes, I get 2 cubic yards of gravel loaded into my pickup at a time. It's a one ton. You might not have a one ton so it might take a couple of trips.



2 CY of stone is about 2.25-2.5 tons (TONS).  Must be quite the "one-ton" truck.


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## razerface (Mar 25, 2014)

"1 ton" truck,,,,does not mean it will haul 1 ton. It is rated for more then 1 ton,,depending on the weight of the truck.

he is talking dirt, not stone


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## Highbeam (Mar 25, 2014)

M1sterM said:


> 2 CY of stone is about 2.25-2.5 tons (TONS).  Must be quite the "one-ton" truck.


 
As you know, the "ton" designations on pickups have long been bogus. For as short as my gravel trips have been, I make sure that there is a healthy inch or so before the factory suspension bottoms out. Tires at 80 psi are not overly squatted either. My rated cargo capacity is only 2500#. Hand unloading 2 CY of gravel is about all I want to do in one day.

Oh and you might be surprised to know that those slide in campers you see are often well over 4000 lbs these days. In a one ton truck if you're lucky, usually 3/4 tons.


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## M1sterM (Mar 25, 2014)

I know.  Some duellies are rated up to about 3 tons of payload, but still wouldn't want to put more than 2.5 tons or so in the bed.  It was a tongue-in-cheek comment.


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## Butcher (Mar 25, 2014)

Looks like a good spot for a raised bed veggie garden.


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## razerface (Mar 25, 2014)

Butcher said:


> Looks like a good spot for a raised bed veggie garden.


if he raises it,,,,won't be wet any more.


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## jebatty (Mar 26, 2014)

Take advantage of the wet area, it is an asset, not a liability. Raised garden, rain water garden, plant things that like wetness and enjoy the view, the options while not endless all are very attractive and much better than trying to beat Mother Nature. She loves you, love her back.


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## Badfish740 (Mar 26, 2014)

Thanks for all the responses!  One of the things I love about this forum is that it teaches me how much I don't know about something.  I've looked at the soils reports, investigated a few of the methods suggested, and I think I might have found a solution which is kind of a hybrid between putting in a rock filled drywell and just filling the area in with dirt.  I found a thread on another forum from someone who had a similar issue.  Here's the solution:

Cover the entire area in landscaping fabric (in my case, about a 25' x 50' area), spread a layer of 4" crushed stone, then a layer of 2", another layer of fabric, then 3/4".  The idea is that water will still collect in the area as it does now, but that it will be under a 12" layer of rock with two layers of fabric to keep mud from pumping up through the rock.  I think it's worth a shot at least.


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## razerface (Mar 26, 2014)

Badfish740 said:


> spread a layer of 4" crushed stone, then a layer of 2", another layer of fabric, then 3/4".........
> The idea is that water will still collect in the area as it does now, but that it will be under a 12" layer of rock  ...........


your numbers do not add up.

If you put a 4" layer and then a 2" layer of stone,,,???? That equals a 6" layer. then fabric and another 3/4. That equals 6  3/4,,, not 12.

I must not understand what you are trying to do. If you fill and grade, there is no mud to pump up. I think you are making it more difficult for yourself then it has to be,,,but have fun!.


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## JustWood (Mar 26, 2014)

I have a 1000 gallon  cistern/tank that collects water from a spring behind my shop. It's there to wash vehicles/equipment and fire prevention. Was going to just tile it into a nearby creek but had the tank laying around so I made good use of it.
Marked it as it's at grade and had the fire chief over to show him where it was in case of a fire at my place.
Might be worth looking into . Might see some savings on your homeowners also if the fire dept is aware of it. Savings over time may pay for the installation.


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## granpajohn (Mar 26, 2014)

razerface said:


> your numbers do not add up.
> 
> If you put a 4" layer and then a 2" layer of stone,,,???? That equals a 6" layer. then fabric and another 3/4. That equals 6  3/4,,, not 12.
> 
> I must not understand what you are trying to do. If you fill and grade, there is no mud to pump up. I think you are making it more difficult for yourself then it has to be,,,but have fun!.


I believe those numbers are the stone sizes; not the layer thickness

http://www.laurelsandandstone.com/products.html

Caution with crusher run (CR-6 etc), it is compactible (amazingly so). Don't drive on it or it becomes rather impervious, like a driveway. Don't worry though; tell your aggregate dealer what you're doing and he'll help.


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## Badfish740 (Mar 26, 2014)

What granpajohn said.  3 layers of progressively smaller sizes of stone.  With regard to just filling and grading with dirt, one of the obstacles I'm dealing with is a small lot with a lot of obstructions.  If it was as easy as backing up a triaxle dump and dropping a full load of dirt that would be one thing.  I'm dealing with a spot in the back corner of the yard surrounded by fences on all sides.  The only access to the backyard is through a 10' wide gate.  I feel it would be easier to bring in loads of stone in my pickup a little at a time.  I can drive to the quarry just up the road on a Saturday, pick up a load, back it into the yard, and shovel it off.  Clean dirt, at least around here, is harder to come by, and IMHO, harder to move.


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## M1sterM (Mar 26, 2014)

Sounds like a good plan.  And I agree about using the landscape fabric...it's necessary if you want to maintain "interstitial space" for water collection.  Not sure if you really need 3 sizes of stone, though.  If you don't get any "minus" material (e.g. no fines in the stone), you could probably get away with just the 2 inch stone for the drainage layer (or 2-4 inch, depending on how your yard classes their stone).  

Are you going to leave it as a gravel pad (for piling firewood, perhaps?), or going to cover with topsoil and plant it?


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## razerface (Mar 26, 2014)

granpajohn said:


> I believe those numbers are the stone sizes; not the layer thickness
> 
> .



oh,,,I was reading it in english 

" = inches 
# = number

example:   4" = 4 inches,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,                #4 = stone size (and it will not be 4 inch stone)


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## Ashful (Mar 26, 2014)

Call me simple, but I'd order a tri-axle of topsoil and grade out that low spot.  Water runs downhill, and it sounds like your neighbors are downhill.

You have to be a little careful here, in that you are typically not permitted to affect runoff to or from a neighboring property, but in this case it appears net runoff will remain un-changed.  You are simply varying your storage capacity prior to runoff.

Stone, fabric, etc... is that what the rest of your yard is?  Keep it simple.  I've done this in many places on my yard, and once grass is established, it's a stable solution.

Do note that what most sell as "top soil" is very heavy in clay.  You typically want to order "premium topsoil", or have some organic product mixed in with the top soil (ask supplier for recommendation), if you want anything to grow in it.


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## Badfish740 (Mar 26, 2014)

Joful said:


> Call me simple, but I'd order a tri-axle of topsoil and grade out that low spot.  Water runs downhill, and it sounds like your neighbors are downhill.



Can't fit a tri-axle into the yard-no way, no how.  The rationale is that stone is cheaper than topsoil and easier to move in my case.



Joful said:


> Do note that what most sell as "top soil" is very heavy in clay.  You typically want to order "premium topsoil", or have some organic product mixed in with the top soil (ask supplier for recommendation), if you want anything to grow in it.



That's the thing-I don't want to grow anything (got enough to mow, fertilize, etc... )  This is going to be combination firewood processing area and firepit/hangout area.  If I tried to grow grass there it would just get torn up and turn to mud anyway.


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## razerface (Mar 26, 2014)

Badfish740 said:


> That's the thing-I don't want to grow anything (got enough to mow, fertilize, etc... )  This is going to be combination firewood processing area and firepit/hangout area.  If I tried to grow grass there it would just get torn up and turn to mud anyway.


i think we are all confused since your first post mentioned you  would be covering everything with sod. I was anyway!

After grading,,,,,there will be no more mud, even if you use dirt,,,,that is the point of grading,,, the water will run off instead of laying in a pool,,,since the low spot will no longer exist to collect water.

you will have to use a top layer of stones with fines to make surface water run. Big stone will not do that. Bigger stone on the bottom will help the sinking till it all settles,,, if you have room.  If you get grade wrong,,and go high,,you will move the wet spot to a different place where you will not want it. Run a laser and see what you have.


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## Badfish740 (Mar 26, 2014)

razerface said:


> i think we are all confused since your first post mentioned you  would be covering everything with sod. I was anyway!



Whoops-the project sort of evolved in my head which never made it into a post.  I thought about it some more and questioned the decision to put grass there given what I want to use the area for.


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## Highbeam (Mar 26, 2014)

You have a 10 foot gate? That is all you need to back in a tri-axle. Max width of that truck is 102" and he will have no problem making it through a 10 foot gate. Assuming there is a path on either side of the gate to drive to your hole.

Skip the fabric, you aren't building a road. You are filling a low spot in your yard. Fabric is for separation, it is to keep the gunk from pumping up and contaminating your gravel with clay. That pumping up will only occur if you are driving on it which kneads it like dough if the ground is soft. After you fill this hole it will "heal" and become just as hard as the surrounding ground over the summer.  

A little at a time with your pickup will certainly work and can be a pleasant chore if you have the time. If you want gravel, choose a crushed product that includes the fines. In my part of the country we call that "5/8 minus" or "1.25 minus" meaning the big rocks were crushed and everything able to pass through a 5/8" or 1.25" screen is in the pile. We use the 5/8 minus stuff right under asphalt paving.

If you're looking for a complicated project, get into plumbing or sheetrock in the home. What you have here is a hole in the groudn that needs filling.


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## Badfish740 (Mar 26, 2014)

Highbeam said:


> You have a 10 foot gate? That is all you need to back in a tri-axle. Max width of that truck is 102" and he will have no problem making it through a 10 foot gate. Assuming there is a path on either side of the gate to drive to your hole..



I thought the gate would be the limiting factor, but regardless, after you get through the gate and the 10' wide space between the fence and the side of the house there are two trees in the way and no room for the truck to make a swing to back around them.  They are mature sugar maples and as much as they'd make good firewood I ain't cutting them   As for the rest of it, 10-4.  I think I have a plan now...


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## Ncountry (Mar 26, 2014)

I would not be overly confident in filling the low spot with topsoil. The underlying problem (the clay and the slope of) is still there. If you have a bowl full of water and fill it with top soil, you have a bowl full of mud. Covering the area with land fabric 1st and then some stone,fabric ,and top soil again would probably float the yard over it. As long as the new topsoil  level  is above the old water line


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## Butcher (Mar 26, 2014)

Yessir I'm cornfused.


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## bsa0021 (Mar 29, 2014)

I don't mean to dispute the professionals here, but the previous house I owned had a major water issues. All the surrounding properties were sloped toward my property. The water was so bad when it rained my garage would flood  (rear garage door) from the water running from the back of the property into the rear door.
Fed up, I started digging / picking by hand. It was all clay. I went down as far as I could and filled the hole with broken concrete pieces from an old slab. Covered with landscape fabric and topsoil. Of course I was in my 20s so digging by hand was a challenge. I don't know why it worked but it did.


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## Badfish740 (Mar 29, 2014)

bsa0021 said:


> I don't mean to dispute the professionals here, but the previous house I owned had a major water issues. All the surrounding properties were sloped toward my property. The water was so bad when it rained my garage would flood  (rear garage door) from the water running from the back of the property into the rear door.  Fed up, I started digging / picking by hand. It was all clay. I went down as far as I could and filled the hole with broken concrete pieces from an old slab. Covered with landscape fabric and topsoil. Of course I was in my 20s so digging by hand was a challenge. I don't know why it worked but it did.



For the heck of it, I decided to do a little investigating of my soil.  I pulled a soil report and the soil for my area is described as "gravelly loam."  From Googling, loam sounds like a good thing, but it still doesn't seem to drain well, but I suppose the grade issues have to do with that as well.  Anyway, I got back to the post hole I had been digging, and went down as far as the handle on the digger would let me (about 40").  The hole kept filling with water as I was digging so I ended up getting my shop vac out and sucking the loose stuff out as I went.  The soil seemed uniform all the way down.  Basically its an orangish-brown soil that seems sticky but gritty-there's a lot of broken up rock in it as well.  I took some of it and spread it out over a rag and ran some water over it.  With the silt washed away I was left with what looked like sand, bits of rock, a lot of gold flecks (mica, I think), and little globs of soil with the consistency of gritty silly putty.  I'm guessing that's clay.  About an hour after I finished digging the hole was completely full of water and still is, granted it's been raining on and off all day.  The water was running in from the bottom fast enough that I could see it.  Is the ground really just this saturated or could I be dealing with an underground spring?


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## semipro (Mar 29, 2014)

Badfish740 said:


> .could I be dealing with an underground spring?


That's why I asked above if you were on a septic system.


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## Badfish740 (Mar 30, 2014)

semipro said:


> That's why I asked above if you were on a septic system.



No, no septics around here.  The subdivision was built in 1967 right after the town had a municipal water system put in.  I have an old aerial photo dated 1938 that shows exactly where my house is now-it was just farmland then.  Any other kind of waterline, delivery or waste, is unlikely as well.  My water and sewer come from the street in front of the house, as does the water and sewer for the house behind me.  There are no easements on my deed.


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## blades (Mar 30, 2014)

Quite possible you have a spring/ under ground seepage bubbling up there, Likely caused by all the other construction/ basements over the years.  A secondly would be if at anytime in the past was there a septic system or just a holding tank, prior to  city sewer?  If you do not know it would be wise to find out what was there before the subdivision was built. 
So many subdivisions have been built on marginal land that at one time were runoff buffer areas. Back filled to create lots, a practice that is highly regulated now but wasn't many years ago.


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## Badfish740 (Mar 30, 2014)

blades said:


> Quite possible you have a spring/ under ground seepage bubbling up there, Likely caused by all the other construction/ basements over the years.  A secondly would be if at anytime in the past was there a septic system or just a holding tank, prior to  city sewer?  If you do not know it would be wise to find out what was there before the subdivision was built.



See my post above-just farmland.



blades said:


> So many subdivisions have been built on marginal land that at one time were runoff buffer areas. Back filled to create lots, a practice that is highly regulated now but wasn't many years ago.



I'm leaning toward this as the reason.  I'm guessing the machines were brought in and the land was reshaped anywhichway without regard to all the stuff you have to get permits and variances for now.


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## granpajohn (Mar 30, 2014)

A spring is ground water that reaches the surface.

Jurisdictions that certify perc tests for septic systems, only allow a wet season test because of seasonal high groundwater. That season is now for a reason.
(Here is the schedule for my county:    
http://www.aahealth.org/programs/env-hlth/well-septic-systems/wet-season-perc )

I think you probably have just uncovered high groundwater. Typical for this time of year.


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## woodsmaster (Apr 13, 2014)

I would say there is spring, septic tank, sewer, something under that area. The grass is green there and that means its warmer there. Something in the ground warming that area. Often after a tank is buried the ground will sink like that over it from all the dirt not making it back directly over the hole.


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## Badfish740 (Apr 13, 2014)

woodsmaster said:


> I would say there is spring, septic tank, sewer, something under that area. The grass is green there and that means its warmer there. Something in the ground warming that area. Often after a tank is buried the ground will sink like that over it from all the dirt not making it back directly over the hole.



I talked to my county NRCS rep and found that its just high groundwater as grandpajohn said-not much I can do about it except fill the area with stone.  Its going to be in the back corner behind the barn, so I'm not as worried about it as I was.  The town (we have municipal water and sewer) confirmed that there are no lines, tanks, culverts, etc...of any kind running under my property and the neighborhood was built new with public utilities in the late '60s.  Before that it was farmland, and examining old aerial surveys confirms that there was nothing here but cropland (no old buildings, etc...).


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## Lake Girl (Apr 15, 2014)

Justwood has a valid point on a cistern.  A small one, a couple/few interconnected barrels as you initially described (geotextile surround to stop silt infiltration) and a small pump, would provide water for gardens and washing vehicles.  Something to think about especially if you are on metered water.

Bring in rock as described above so the area is usable...


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