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Every time it rains hard, my backyard floods. The house is 54 years old, but this didn't start happening until maybe the last 4-5 years or so. Who should I talk to about fixing this problem, and what is the usual fix?

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Do you know if you have a French drain? You could see a change like that if it got clogged 4-5 years ago. Otherwise, more details would be helpful: how the land slopes, soil type, if there was nearby development at the time. – Niall C. May 22 '11 at 16:58
One of my friends started suddenly having problems, and after ruining his basement twice (a few years apart; he waited to make sure that the drylock as working before re-finishing it), and then putting in a massive drain field and permits to tie into the storm drains .... there was a cracked water main in his front yard ... so the ground was always saturated, and additional rain took it over the edge to flood his basement as his sump couldn't keep up. – Joe May 22 '11 at 21:16
@Joe: Btw it sounds like a likely reason. I guess addressing local utility companies and asking them whether they see any leakages wouldn't be very problematic. – sharptooth May 23 '11 at 6:00

2 Answers

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If the ground has a slope you could plant more trees to prevent flooding during heavy rain.

Tree roots have been shown to increase the amount of water soil retains.

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Put in one of these. It's a French Drain, it is also on this sites FAQ. How to build a french drain?

The need for a French Drain arises from a few problems, but usually from standing water in or around your home. This is caused by poor drainage, usually from clay rich soil or overly compacted soil. A French Drain will relocate the water very efficently. Link tot he question above for specifics.

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- This answer seems to be the most reoccuring question that I link to. In fact this answer is the second question on the FAQ. Not for views or votes but the number of times it has been linked to. I will post a question on meta suggesting we change the name of that question to better help new people identify that unless their situation posesses any unique detail, their question may have been already solved. – allindal May 23 '11 at 17:27

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