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I am a new home owner and just saw in our back yard after all the rain yesterday that there was one patch which was extra-wet and soggy. When I looked closely there was a black corrugated (?) pipe under the soil that was exposed and had abruptly ended and the soil after that is the part that's wet. I am guessing it is some sort of drainage for overflow water from somewhere but I want to identify what it is to figure out if this is a real concern. Is this something that's common in other backyards in this area? Any suggestions on how I can find where the pipe is coming from? The only thing I can think of is dig the soil up but would like to avoid that since we just aerated and overseeded the lawn 2 weeks ago. Thanks for looking at this!
I have one of them. It comes from the downspout at the back corner of the house, runs underground, and comes out in the treed area of my backyard....where I don't venture because I don't want to disturb any... critters. We had sod put down this summer and the sod guy replaced some of it before he laid the sod. Personally, I'm not sure it's necessary in my yard, which slopes away from the house, but at some point someone must have found it necessary so we left it.
Try to match yours up with the back of your house - does it run in a somewhat straight line from any of your downspouts?
sure sounds like a drainage pipe...it must be working to have directed the water to that point. Could you extend it to a spot that you want the water to flow to? Bury or Cover with mulch??
Hmm... none of our downspouts are connected to any pipes so they are all open to drain the water from the roof etc. But I do notice that the area where I found this black pipe is also at a slightly lower level than the rest of the yard - maybe it is just water logging from the rain and not from the black pipe? Maybe someone installed the black pipe at some point for use if needed? One question I have is that, this definitely cannot be drainage from any of the sinks or bathrooms from our home, right? Since those should be directly connected to the city sewer, which probably runs even more underground? Thanks.
Black pipe is used for a variety of purposes in construction.
If you live inside the jurisdiction of a municipality, then more than likely your home is connected to the sewer system.
if that is the case, all gray water (from sinks, bath tubs, showers, and washing machine) and all black water (from toilets) MUST be connected to the sewer system.
If you live outside a municipality, more than likely you have a septic system that handles both gray and black water.
Black corrugated 4 inch pipe that is solid is more than likely connected to: 1) the low point of your crawlspace as a foundation drain; 2) the downspouts of your gutter system.
Black corrugated 4 inch pipe that is slotted is more than likely connected to: 1) a French drain or 2) a collection box at the end of a drainage swale-
Check to see if it is covered by a "sock" or geo-fabric that might provide a clue as to the origin of the pipe.
If it's fairly lightweight but hard plastic, where you can move it left to right pretty easily, then normally it IS an extension for your roof gutters, the underground ones look totally diff from the gutter, BUT maybe someone disconnected it at some point for no good reason, and so now you're just getting ordinary rainwater coming thru it from where it originally was connected. And just as commonly, it can just be to get water away from the house in a pretty cheap way.
Since it's puddling and that is your main concern, we had one of ours do that, and we sort of armed our way up with a hand garden trowel, dug out any dirt that had backed up in there, and then we raked and troweled away the silt that collects at the end of those things, so that the water can continue to go downhill and out into the yard. Usually those black plastic drainage pipes need a clear exit place for the water, so it won't puddle like yours is. So, just do some "hand grading" at the end of the pipe, and it shouldn't puddle anymore.
If could be some sort of landscaping drain meant to collect water from a low spot in your yard. It it perforated pipe? (Does it have little holes in it).
Some homes discharge clothes washer and shower water into a yard drainage system. You have to use special soaps if you have such a system. I have seen two houses like this ever.
Our pool filter has a discharge pipe that goes into one of those black corrugated pipes. It is for when you backwash the filter.
It could connect to an area drain and carry water from one side of your property ot the other so that it does not run across the surface.
Lastly it could have been laying around when your house was completed and the grader or landscaper just buried it instead of picking it up and throwing it away.
One question I have is that, this definitely cannot be drainage from any of the sinks or bathrooms from our home, right?
How green is the grass over the area ??
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Drainage of Gray and Black Water
