Drainage Systems
Drainage Design and Installation in Ottawa and Nepean
If you're having issues with flooding - our team can help!
One of the keys to keeping your landscaping (and property) in good shape is ensuring you have proper drainage in place. Drainage issues can cause premature erosion, property damage, damage to buildings and foundations, and they can be very expensive to repair. Depending on what your drainage issues are there could be a number of ways to address the problem and solve it once and for all.
What Type Of Drainage Problem Do You Have?
- Is there water pooling up on your property?
- Does your property have soil erosion due to heavy rain?
- Do you have soft spots in your lawns or gardens?
- Do you have standing water around your foundation?
- Is the issue seasonal or year round?
Without proper drainage in place your landscaping and lawn areas can be prone to flooding, it can drown out your expensive plants, erode away expensive hardscaping, and even cause damage to your structures and their foundations.
Nepean General Contractors is a licensed and insured excavation contractor based out of Nepean, ON. We specialize in drainage systems and offering real solutions for properties with a drainage or standing water problem. Many of our clients properties suffer from poor drainage or have drainage systems that just weren’t implemented correctly from the start which has led to significant erosion problems, water pooling, pot holes in their driveways and parking areas, soft spots, and flooding in their lawns, gardens and landscapes. We can help solve these problems by developing a solid drainage plan for your property.
Drainage System Installation and Repair
- Drainage system design;
- Drain tile trench digging;
- Drainage system installation;
- Underground drainage and piping;
- French drain installations;
- Drainage system repairs;
- Drain box and catch basin installation;
- Downspout drainage systems;
- Stream and creek beds for channeling water.
Does Your Property Have Water Drainage Problems?
Drainage issues should be addressed during the landscape design process and before your actual landscape is installed. Because every property we work on is different a good landscape designer will take the time to understand how water may flow from your property, what type of soil conditions you have, and they will also know and understand the rainfall in your area and/or how high the static water table might be. Knowing all of these factors can help us plan out an effective drainage solution for your specific property.
It’s often during sustained and heavy rainfall when a drainage problem will surface. After a few days of rain, a property with poor drainage will become obvious. You’ll visibly see water pooling in low spots, your lawn or gardens will be muddy, you may see erosion taking place, and a host of other problems. If the water table (sub-surface water) is high in your area, then rainfall only makes the problem that much worse.
Drainage Problems We Solve
High Water Tables
A high water table can pose a challenge for any landscape. The water table is water that lies close to the soil surface. It can vary depending on where you are located. If you have a high water table then the low lying areas of your landscape can often have pooling water. Often the best solution for a high water table is to plant appropriate trees, shrubs, and other plants that are capable of handling these wet, boggy, conditions. These are often plantings that natively grow in riparian areas.
Another option to solve a high water table drainage problem is to raise the lawn areas or planting and garden bed areas up. You can do this by mounding up areas with additional soil and appropriate plantings to keep it held together or you can even used raised garden beds.
Excess Water Pooling on the Surface
If your property has clay-based soil then you may have problems with surface water pooling up. Clay is a very dense material and doesn’t allow for good drainage. Surface water issues can often be solved by properly grading the property away from the home and into a swale or french drain that can channel the water away from your property and into an existing storm drain or drainage ditch of some type.
One of the most popular and effective drainage systems to install for a surface water problem is the French drain. This is a time-tested drainage solution that gathers water and channels it to a place underground (usually a trench filled with gravel and perforated pipe) where the water can take its time percolating down through the dense clay soil.
More Ideas for Solving Your Drainage Problems
Careful Construction Practices – Often drainage problems surface after extensive construction or site-work has been completed on a property. Activities such as removing and placing fill, property grading, and digging of foundations or footings can alter the drainage on a property. When construction occurs on your property care must be taken to avoid compaction of the soil and also to make sure that your property is graded to channel water away from low-lying areas and your home or buildings foundation.
Regulate Your Irrigation System – Many irrigation systems are setup to deliver water to a lawn, garden, or landscape over a set period of time rather than on the needs of those specific plants. It’s a good idea to set your irrigation to meet the needs of your specific landscape rather than set it on a timed schedule. For example, if you’re irrigation system runs for an hour in the evening, but the plantings are sufficiently watered within 15 minutes, that extra 45 minutes of watering doesn’t make much sense and likely contributes to the poor drainage issues.
Check For Broken Plumbing Or Sewer Lines – In some cases, poor drainage, or pooling, standing water can be the symptoms of a broken, clogged, or corroded sewer or drain line. If your drainage issues are accompanied by a foul sewage smell, then this could be part of your problem. We also see pooling water caused by broken municipal water pipes or sprinkler pipes. The broken piping causes the excess water to pool near the surface.
Adapt Plantings To Site Conditions – If your property is continually suffering from drainage problems due to a high water table then it’s a good idea to make sure your plantings are “drinkers”. You want to carefully select plants, trees, and shrubs that require lots of water or that thrive in excess moisture.
Drainage Engineering - If you feel that you've tried it all and nothing has worked - we have an in-house drainage engineer with over ten year of experience working with small and large scale stormwater management designs. Our engineering department works hand-in-hand with the construction department, ensuring feasible, cost effective solutions that can address long-standing drainage issues on your property. All of our designs starts with an on-site consult and a topographic survey, followed by developing an in-depth design drawing with sufficient detail for construction. Our designs include professional stormwater management calculations, to ensure the proposed design has adequate capacity to meet today's rainfall events.
Low Impact Design - Consider implementing various low impact design measures! A combination of rain barrels, re-directing roof leaders, infiltration trenches and rainwater gardens are just a few lot level measures that can be implemented by homeowners. Our experienced landscape and engineering staff work together with the homeowner to provide high level recommendations through a consult, which may offer sufficient drainage relief for properties with only minor, periodic problems.
If you’d like to schedule a consultation to discuss your drainage system or to correct drainage issues you might be experiencing with your property we’d be happy to meet with you. Please call (613) 894-8683 or fill out our online form and we’ll get right back to you.