DRY WELLS: NOT A MIRACLE, BUT NOT USELESS EITHER
Has anyone had luck with those dry wells, or are they just another money pit?
I hear you on the French drain frustration. Heavy clay is just relentless—water sits there like it’s got nowhere better to be. I’ve been in the same boat, and I’ll admit, dry wells aren’t a magic bullet, but I wouldn’t write them off entirely.
We put in a dry well about six years back, mostly to deal with runoff from the downspouts and the occasional pool draining. The key thing I learned (the hard way) is that you can’t just dig a hole, fill it with gravel, and call it a day. In clay, you need serious capacity and depth—think bigger than you’d expect—and you have to make sure the overflow has somewhere to go if the well fills up. Ours is about 4 feet deep with a perforated barrel in the center, wrapped in landscape fabric and surrounded by gravel. Still, after a big storm or when draining the pool, it does fill up fast...but at least it keeps the water away from the house foundation.
I wouldn’t say it’s been a waste of money, but it definitely wasn’t cheap or quick. Maintenance matters too—every couple years I dig out some silt and check the inlet pipes. It’s not glamorous work, but it beats having standing water by the porch.
If you’re only draining the pool once or twice a year, your sump pump-and-hose method might honestly be less hassle. The dry well helps us because we’re dealing with regular drainage issues from old gutters and poor grading. If your yard is flat and heavy clay, even a big dry well can get overwhelmed unless you have somewhere for the overflow to go (swale, storm drain, or even a shallow ditch at the back of the lot).
I guess it comes down to how often you’re fighting water. For rare events, temporary solutions like moving the hose might be all you need. For chronic sogginess…well, nothing short of regrading or tying into municipal drains really solves it in my experience. Dry wells are more of a band-aid than a cure, but sometimes that’s enough to keep things manageable.
Honestly, I tried the dry well route and my wallet still hasn’t forgiven me. For draining the pool once or twice a year, dragging a hose to the street or a thirsty patch of garden just seems way easier (and cheaper). My clay soil laughed at my “solution.”
Title: Need ideas for draining my pool without flooding the yard
My clay soil laughed at my “solution.”
That line hits home. Clay soil is relentless—water just sits there, mocking every attempt at infiltration. I’ve been down the dry well rabbit hole too, and honestly, it’s a tough sell unless you’re ready to go big with excavation and gravel. Not exactly budget-friendly, especially for something you only need a couple times a year.
Dragging a hose to the street or garden is a classic for a reason. It’s simple, and you get to control where the water goes. I’ve found that if you move the hose around every hour or so, you can avoid swampy patches in the yard. If you’re worried about chlorine or pool chemicals, letting the water sit uncovered for a few days before draining can help dissipate most of it—just a little patience pays off.
One thing I tried (with mixed results) was using a rain barrel as a buffer. I’d fill it up slowly from the pool, then use that water over the next week or two for plants. It’s not perfect, but it made me feel a bit better about not wasting so much water all at once.
Honestly, sometimes the simplest approach wins out. The fancy solutions look good on paper, but if they don’t fit your soil or your wallet, no shame in sticking with what works. Your wallet will thank you, even if your clay soil never does.
Ever tried using a submersible pump with a slow flow setting? I’ve had better luck controlling runoff that way, especially with stubborn clay. Curious if anyone’s experimented with rerouting to a rain garden or bioswale for extra absorption? Seems like it could help, but maybe not with heavy pool volumes.
I get where you’re coming from with the slow flow pump—clay is just relentless when it comes to absorbing water. But I’ve got to say, I tried rerouting some overflow into a bioswale last summer and honestly, it didn’t handle the pool water as well as I’d hoped. I kept thinking, “Oh, this’ll be like a little riverbed, super eco-friendly,” but the volume was just too much. The swale got overwhelmed and I ended up with a soggy mess that made mowing impossible for weeks.
“Curious if anyone’s experimented with rerouting to a rain garden or bioswale for extra absorption? Seems like it could help, but maybe not with heavy pool volumes.”
Exactly my experience. Rain gardens are beautiful, but in my case, they were more decorative than functional for anything beyond a light rain. Maybe if you had a massive one? Or some sort of gravel trench underneath? I’ve even seen people use buried tanks to slow-release the water, but that seems like a whole project. Sometimes I wonder if it’s just better to break up the draining over a few days instead of trying to do it all at once. Every yard’s different though...
