Question
I live in New Orleans and have an issue with draining a small area of grass in my backyard. The original owner of my house built a swimming pool. The house is L shaped and the pool runs parrallel to the long side of the L. The garage is next to the short side of the pool with the driveway perpendicular to the long side of the L. In other words there is an area of grass on the inside of the L that is surounded by house on 2 sides, cooldeck on one side and driveway on the other. The roof of our house is steep and when it rains this grassy area is deluged with water from all sides and from 2 sides of the roof. In a heavy rain, the water isn't caught in the gutters and flows directly into the grass.The water has come up into the house on several occaisions.
It appears that the yard has sunk about 5" since the pool was built and the cooldeck is higher than the grass as is the driveway. I can't raise the elevation of the grass by more than about 5" or I go higher than the slab of the house.
The street in front of the house is about 2 feet lower than the backyard. I have thought about running a pipe under the driveway but I'm not certain the slope is sufficient to carry a 6" pipe.I'm not sure a smaller pipe can drain the area adequately
I attempted to fix the problem by burying a catch basin in the lowest area and hooking up a bilge pump and a float valve so that I could pump the water onto the driveway. Although crude, it works until the battery goes dead or the float switch jams.(All too frequently and always at the most inopportune time).
Help!
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Dick Helman
New Orleans, La.

Answer
Richard,
Ah New Orleans. It sounds like you have a problem but hey, you at least have your house. I know how much trouble New Orleans has seen over the last year and whoever built the house should have forseen the water drainage problem.I have a picture in my mind about your problem but I do not have a CLEAR one. Is there any way you can send me photos? If so this is my email address: [email protected]. It would really help.Otherwise I may give you the wrong advice.