Natural spring in the backyard-what to do?

[Badfish740]

I have a spot in the rear corner of the yard which is perpetually green and stays "squishy" all year round even when the rest of the ground is frozen solid. I talked to the public works department and they told me that my development was put in with all public sewer so no chance of an old septic anywhere. Also, all sewer pipes go through the front yard. They also mentioned to me that it's more than likely a natural spring since they are very common in the area. I was hoping to use this area for a garden and was also thinking of building a small pole barn (16x24) nearby. As it stands now I'm worried that the garden will become a swamp and the pole barn will sink-is there anything I can do?

 

[Green Mtn Boy]

The installation of drainage will make that area usable. You didn't mention the topography of the land so it's hard to give you specific directions. In a nut shell you'll dig down say about 4-5 feet with a trench that will run to a daylight location so that the water with run thru a pipe under ground and then "daylight" to the surface. Place 3-4 inches of crushed stone under the pipe ( 4" perforated sewer and drain or SDR-35 holes down) and then cover the pipe with at least six inches of stone. The bullet proof way to do this is to fill the trench all the way to the top with crushed stone but this will be expensive. An alternative with be to cover the pipe with 6 inches of stone then cover with filter fabric and then continue to back fill with a granular sand or gravel. The excavated material from the trench will have to be removed or used as fill in another location. The surface should be graded in such a way as to direct the water away from your house and the area your trying to drain. With the exception of springs......surface water creates most water problems that people have. Let me know if this helps.

 

[NitroDave]

Dig a pond and put the garden and barn somewhere else.

 

[karl]

Geo thermal heat pump