Question
Jeff,
Thanks for answering my question on 9/29/06.  Sorry you were feeling under the weather- -I stopped checking for an answer after a couple weeks- -thought maybe I sent it wrong.  Hey...I got your reply about soil compaction.  Just to give you an update, after I wrote you, I had the underground cable contractor come out thinking he might have hit my city water service line.  City marked my line to my house contractor marked where he crossed the city line and dug down 3 feet and found his cable- - no water in the hole , so it blew the theory that he struck my city service line.  I have well meaning friends that tell me I must have a leak in my copper city service line (9 years old house) which is about 8 feet below ground.  The city says no because if it was leaking it would be alot more water and when you dig deep like we have, you would see water below. They say the only way I would know for sure is to spend $2000 and dig up my whole front yard 9 feet down and look at my service line?  In the meantime I spread  6yards of topsoil around on top of my lawn and guess what ?   Same problem.  Even when it is not raining. Does it still sound like soil compaction problem ?  You mentioned drilling drainage holes, how do I do that or do I get a contractor?  What kind of chemical wetting agents disperse water through soil?  Can you point me to a source or contractor in/near Marysville Michigan that can help without taking me for a ride?   
Thank you so much Jeff for any and all help you can give me.  This problem has been driving me nuts- -you will never know how grateful I am for your insight...like I said I have alot of people telling me what they think but dont know....and alot of contractors eager to take my money!!!!(which I dont have much of)   THANKS

Answer
I agree that it would be unlikely that the service line is leaking, if you have a water meter it is easy to check---turn off all water and see if the meter is spinning.  I do think you have a compaction problem, but I cant steer you to anyone in Michigan, I live on the West Coast.  Check with your local County Extension Agent.  They are usually a part of the county agriculture department.  They are most often a good resource for local issues.