French drains can be an excellent option to not just take excess water away from your foundation, but out of any point in your yard where it gathers. However, everyone has their questions about French drains, and a common one is what happens to the water.
The way that French drains work is that water is always looking for both the lowest point and the path of least resistance. By installing a pipe with holes on a gradual slope under your lawn, the water, instead of pooling, will end up inside it and is ferried away. The question is, ferried away to where?
In many cases, it will be recommended that the pipe release the excess water into the street. It will then travel to sewer drains and will be drained away in the city system. However, that is not always applicable for every yard. In some cases, the street may be much too far for it to be an option.
When allowing excess water to flow from a French drain into the street is not an option, you may want it to drain into a dry well, a separate drainage ditch, or simply to a low lying area of your yard if you are installing it for foundation concerns.
The optimally installed French drain does not necessarily need an end point. Ideally, as the excess water from one area runs down the drain, it will be distributed more evenly across your yard and absorbed. So water really doesn’t need to be dumped anywhere, it just ends up in the soil along a better line of distribution.
If you are considering a French drain for your yard or foundation – we can help. Contact us today to see we at Accurate Lawn Leveling can do to walk you through your options to make sure you get the drainage you need.