I get the concern with clay soil—French drains can be hit or miss depending on how compacted things are. But honestly, a dry well in heavy clay is just going to fill up and stay soggy forever. Piping to the street isn’t perfect, but at least you know where the water’s going. I’ve seen too many backyard swamps from “drains” that never actually drain... Sometimes it’s just about picking the least bad option.
Yeah, piping to the street tends to be the lesser evil, especially with dense clay. I’ve seen folks try dry wells around here and all they end up with is a permanent mud pit—just like you said. One client had a “French drain” that was basically a gravel-filled trench holding water for weeks. If you can get enough slope for the pipe, sending it out front usually works best, even if it’s not pretty. Sometimes you just have to work with what the ground gives you...
I get the logic behind piping to the street, but I’ve seen that backfire too—especially in older neighborhoods like mine where the city gets cranky about runoff. Honestly, a properly designed dry well can work even in clay if you go deep enough and use the right filter fabric. It’s not always pretty, but neither is a soggy sidewalk or a neighbor complaining about water in their driveway. Sometimes it’s worth rethinking the “lesser evil” if you’ve got the patience for a little extra digging.
I ran into the same issue last summer—my yard’s basically a clay bowl. I ended up digging a dry well about 5 feet down, lined it with landscape fabric, and filled it with gravel. Not glamorous, but it’s kept the water from pooling or creeping into my neighbor’s garage. The digging was a pain, but honestly, less hassle than dealing with city fines or angry neighbors.
That dry well idea is pretty clever, honestly. I’ve seen people try to get fancy with French drains or even those big rain gardens, but sometimes simple just works. If you ever want to dress it up a bit, you could plant some tall grasses or hydrangeas around the area—makes it look intentional instead of just a gravel pit. I totally get the pain of digging in clay though... my arms were noodles for days after trying to plant a single tree.
