Question
hi ive got a disused gas maine which we beleive is flooding our back garden now the grass has died and weeds thrive on ,what can we do and is the water from the pipe doing this as its only happened within a boundry of 20 sqaure meters the rest of the grass was fine

Answer
Hello Leslie

I must say that I feel it's unlikely that an old pipe can function as a water pipe after a few years of being abandoned, however, it is possible. If the grass first turned yellow before it died then it is most definitely a waterlogging problem.

A simple dig around the end of the tube, or the middle of the yellow patch will soon establish whether the pipe is bringing in the water or not. If it is the you will need to dig a large hole near the end of the pipe, line it with builder's fleece (nylon) and backfill it with builder's rubble or large gravel. Cover the rubble or gravel with builders fleece, leave a couple of feet of soil for the grass to grow over the hole and simply re-seed the grass again in the autumn.

This allows the water to flow away underground, therefore the hole has to be around 1 yard or so deep at least.

Good luck!

Jonathan www.ecologicagardens.com