Question
We are located in zip code 20706 - Lanham, Maryland. Our yard is attached to four yards & lower than the yard directly behind us and is some what shady with what I think is an old oak tree and I'm not sure if it is mostly clay the dirt under the porch is orangey.  After a rain or melted snow or ice, the yard stays soggy for a few days, some times the water just sits there for at least a day. The water also runs under the driveway and it is cracking up and the water coming up through the cracks. The previous owner had an above-ground pool that took up the most of the yard and was up for at least 15 years before they sold the house. When they took it down they put down a "little" amount of grass seeds (said the neighbor).  We would like to know if there is a working solution or do we need to think about not having a lawn at all and learn to live with the mud field we are starting to have. The yards to the left & right also have the same issue.  One neighbor said the previous owner and her husband were supposed to have installed some kind of well but neither are here to ask and she has no idea where it may be, if there at all.

Answer
You will need to install drainage tiles. Drainage tiles are performated tiles which allow water to drain. It is attached to a hose which should run into a large well. The well can be as simple as a deep hole lined with landscape fabric, and then backfilled with large rocks (the larger the better). The entire thing is wrapped in landscape fabric (fabric which keep dirt out but which allow water to seep through). Then covered with soil.

You need to deal with the water collection issue by installing drainage and running it into a well (a well is only used if you can not run the water off your property in a legal and practical manner).

If not, you will have the continued problems, the driveway will continue to deteriorate and you could risk the foundation of the house.

It is a serious issue.
I recommend these articles:
http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/howto/lawns/drainage/index.html

http://grounds-mag.com/mag/grounds_maintenance_install_drainage/index.html

http://www.oxfordplasticsinc.com/residential.htm

For serious cases, I recommend the solicitation of a landscaper or even a construction company to give advice, even if you end up doing the work yourself.

This is not something which should be ignored. It needs to be dealt with.

Good luck
Kenneth