I second the sump pump suggestion. Last year, I drained my pool using just gravity and a regular garden hose... took forever and left my yard soggy for days. This summer, I borrowed a friend's sump pump and ran it through one of those collapsible hoses—huge difference. No flooding, no mess, and done in a few hours. Definitely worth trying if you're worried about water pooling around your house.
Totally agree on the sump pump—makes a huge difference. One extra tip I'd add is to think about where you're directing all that water. Even with a pump, if you're just dumping it onto your lawn or near flower beds, you might still end up with soggy spots or erosion issues. What worked great for me was running the hose out to my driveway and letting the water flow down into the street drainage system. If that's not an option, you could also direct it toward a rain garden or dry well—basically a shallow pit filled with gravel and sand that helps water soak into the ground slowly without flooding your yard. Takes a bit more prep work, but it's eco-friendly and keeps your landscaping intact.
Great suggestion about the rain garden—I hadn't thought of that before. Have you tried it yourself, or seen it work well for someone else? I've been dealing with similar drainage headaches at my older place, and I'm always nervous about diverting water toward the driveway or street since our local regulations can get a bit picky about runoff. I like the idea of the dry well too, but how much digging did you actually have to do? My yard has some pretty mature trees, and I'm worried about damaging roots if I go too deep. Definitely agree it's worth the extra prep though, especially if it means not having to fix muddy landscaping every spring...
I've done a dry well myself, and honestly, the digging wasn't too terrible—maybe 3-4 feet deep and about as wide. But yeah, mature trees complicate things. I hit some roots and had to shift my spot slightly. If you're worried about damaging roots, maybe consider multiple smaller dry wells instead of one big one? Rain gardens are great too, but they can overflow if your soil doesn't drain well enough... learned that the hard way, lol.
"Rain gardens are great too, but they can overflow if your soil doesn't drain well enough... learned that the hard way, lol."
Yeah, been there myself—heavy clay soil here, so rain gardens turned into mini ponds. Smaller dry wells sound smart, though. Might be easier to manage around roots and less digging overall. Good luck!
