You may notice spots in your lawn that are especially wet after the sprinklers have gone off or a rainstorm passed through. This can be normal at first since it takes time for water to travel down into the soil. If it seems to take especially long, though, it could be a problem with how your lawn drains.

Why Should You Worry About Poorly Draining Lawns?

Did you know that too much water can drown roots? It seems strange since they are built to take up liquids. However, they also need to have access to air. If there is constantly water present, the roots won’t be able to process the air and die.

Too much water can also cause the roots and other parts to catch fungal disease or rot, since both are more likely to occur in wet situations.

It is also a safety issue since someone could slip and fall when they are walking across your yard.

What Causes Drainage Problems in Lawns and How Can They Be Fixed?

There are several reasons why water is having a hard time draining into the soil. Investigate around your landscape to see if you can find signs of the following:

• A common problem is thatch since the thick layer can make it hard for liquids to move down. Aerate your lawn to help alleviate this problem.
• You could have clay soil. The particles in this type are closer together and it is notorious for not letting water through in a reasonable timeframe. Add organic matter like lawn clippings over time and the soil composition will change.
• One of your sprinkler pipes may be broken. You can test out the system to see if that is the case and work on repairs.
• The ground may have sunk down and created a depression. Depending on how deep it is, you can either add a top dressing or use a shovel to dig up the sunken area, fill, and add the grass back on top.

There are other problems that would be harder to alleviate, like if the natural level of the groundwater is high or your yard is underneath a slope. 

We would be happy to come out and assess why you have drainage problems in your yard, so give us a call.

_{Image by erix! under a Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License}