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I have a natural spring in the side of my yard (had the water tested, not sewage or city water, natural spring). I live on a hill and the spring is coming out above my house in relation to the elevation of my home. This spring has been there for at least as long as my 100 year old house since the house has a root cellar which used the spring water at some point to cool the room.

I digress...

Needless to say the lawn on that side of my house is saturated with water. It doesn't appear to be an issue with coming into my house... yet.

My plan is to build a containment pool (15' x 20' x 2'). Fill the base with gravel, build the walls with concrete blocks, line with EPMD liner, and figure out some way to properly drain this water once the height of the pond reaches a certain point.

Notes:

  1. There's very little chance of this water not coming out of the ground at this point. It has been for at least 100 years.
  2. The previous owner build a 2' deep catch basin a long time ago to solve this problem but over the years it has been defeated. He did gravel/landscape mat, then another layer of the same. It seems to have been totally filled with mud/sediment.

Any help or advice would be appreciated. The ground on this side of my house is basically unusable so tearing it up is not a big deal to me.

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  • In the long-run, even a pond is going to have the problem of filling up with sediment, as will most solutions. I'd be careful about placement. You don't want the pond flooding near the house.
    – Hemm
    Commented May 11, 2011 at 19:55
  • Unfortunately it's already flooded near my house, just without a pond
    – hunter
    Commented May 12, 2011 at 1:41

2 Answers 2

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Several thoughts:

  • Make sure the pond is below the spring and use a riverbed to drain into the pond. You don't want to try to get the spring to come up in the middle of the pond.

  • Install a drain system outside of the pond liner for any water that doesn't go into the pond.

  • Make sure you have something to move the water in the pond (pump and waterfall) to avoid mosquitoes nesting. Perhaps have a small riverbed crossing below the spring area with a porous stone wall that lets spring water enter.

  • Instead of a pond, you could install a French drain, using several tubes enclosed in gravel and optionally landscaping fabric. You can feed that into a drain field for watering the lawn, which just has the gravel below the pipe instead of above it. Or just run it around the house to where any runoff goes away from the foundation. To avoid clogging and sediment buildup, make sure to include a clean-out access at the top to flush with a hose or plumbing snake or even the clog attachment on a vent cleaner.

  • One final though, instead of getting rid of the water, store it in an underground rain barrel/cistern, install a sump pump, attach a hose, and you have free water for all of your yard work.

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  • @B I realize my answer is the same, but its also simpler and more direct. I'll delete it if your answer is chosen.
    – allindal
    Commented May 13, 2011 at 1:29
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    @allindal: Not to mention you included a link to some other good answers. I vote that you leave it even if my answer is chosen.
    – BMitch
    Commented May 13, 2011 at 2:58
  • @B +1 That's that I mean. I will delete mine after yours is chosen.
    – allindal
    Commented May 13, 2011 at 11:39
  • Thank you for this information. It's hard to describe my situation but the flooded area is very large. I know containing it in a pond isn't going to solve the problem and I like the idea of the overflow into a french drain. Do you think it's possible surround the pond structure with a leech bed?
    – hunter
    Commented May 14, 2011 at 12:37
  • I wouldn't want the leech bed close to the pond structure (but I would want a French drain there). Instead, place the leech field/drain field away from the spring/pond so that you even out the moisture levels in the yard. I've updated my answer with a few relevant links to give you some more ideas.
    – BMitch
    Commented May 14, 2011 at 14:24
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Build a french drain. This is what they are used for. See this DIy question for an answer.

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