Question

Backyard1   Our backyard was designed to catch rainwater in order to prevent flooding on the farm behind us. We can't put flower beds, etc... in because when it does rain hard, the back yard literally becomes a pond.
We currently have a small deck but really don't get any use of the backyard, because we don't want to go down the steep hill to where the bulk of the land is.
In order to gain more use out of our backyard, we were thinking about making our deck larger. We can't figure out any other way to make use of this space.
What else can we do to make our backyard usable? Is blowing out the deck the best way to address this landscaping challenge?

Answer
You need to see if there is a recorded storm drain or detention pond easement on your plat registered with the local County. If there is, then you probably can not do anything with the ponding area if it was designed for that purpose specifically. However if this is just something the builder did and it is not an official detention pond you can do what ever you want to it as long as you do not increase the concentrated volume of water downstream from your lot. In other words you can not make it worse for your neighbor than it already is. You could create a "rain garden" (Google it) or you could remove the low area entirely as options. Then you can landscape the area as you see fit. Also you can mark the edges of the worst ponding to delineate the limits of flooded area and plant above that. Or plant flowers that like to be submerged periodically. If the water does not stand for more than a few hours its probably safe to plant a lot of things. As long as the ground does not also stay constantly wet there.
Otherwise expanding the deck is a good alternative, all be it expensive compared to a patio or landscaping.

Best of Luck
please feel free to see my website at http://www.amenityarchitects.com or http://www.seanjmurphy.com


Thanks for your question,

Sean J Murphy, LA, ISA, LEED AP