Flooding & Drainage Solutions for Your Home & Yard

1. Flooding & Drainage Solutions for Your Home & Yard Presented by: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rockland County

2. Overview • What is a watershed? • What is stormwater? • MS4 -DEC regulations • Things to look for around your home & neighborhood • Problems • Solutions • Questions?

3. What is a watershed? • AKA drainage basin • It's the area of land that catches rain and snow and drains or seeps into a stream, river, lake, marsh or groundwater. http://www.epa.gov/volunteer/fall94/wtrshd05.htm http://www.ctic.purdue.edu/KYW/glossary/whatisaws.html

5. What is stormwater? • Rain or snow melt that does not percolate into the ground or evaporate. • Runs off roads, yards, roofs and down gutters, travels into stormwater grates, eventually drains to a water body. • Storm drains do not drain to sewage treatment plants! They drain to our creeks and rivers!!! Photo credits - CWP, April 2004 workshop

6. What is stormwater? It carries pollutants into streams & ponds! Photo credits- LEAPE program

7. Why should I be concerned? • These pollutants can impair water quality for human use and harm aquatic organisms.

8. Phase 2 - MS4-DEC Regulations: • Regulations are intended to reduce pollutants • MS4 = Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems

9. Phase 2 -- MS4-DEC Regulations: • Requirements for each MS4 municipality: • Implement a stormwater management program, which includes: • Public education & outreach • Public involvement & participation • Illicit discharge & elimination • Construction site runoff control • Post-construction runoff control • Pollution prevention & good housekeeping

10. Phase 2 -- MS4-DEC Regulations: • Keep abreast of your town or village planning & development issues • Get involved in your local planning stages to help prevent future flooding problems

11. Things to look for around your home: • Do a physical assessment of home and yard • Prevention … see where water is moving • Make a map of your home site

12. Home assessment continued ... • Go outside … observe during a few rainstorms: • draw arrows showing the flow of water on your property • how it flows off driveways, rooftops, sidewalks, yards, etc. • does water soak into ground quickly or is it slow? • does ponding of water occur?

13. Encourage water to infiltrate into the groundwater... • Slow down the flow as much as possible on your property which will encourage water to infiltrate into the ground.

14. Flood plain... • Any flat or nearly flat lowland that borders a stream and that may be covered by its waters at flood stages • Do you live in a flood plain? • You will know because you will have flood insurance • Flood plain maps available at County Planning Department (364-3434)

15. Stream maintenance... • Usually the responsibility of local government or private landowner: • unless it is a town, county, state or national protected waterway/wetland • Remove woody vegetation and debris • Need permit for dredging & excavation See “Routine Stream Maintenance” brochure

16. Preventing stream bank erosion using bioengineering • Willow waddles Using live willow stalks to anchor in the waddles A 30' waddle in place to be buried http://www.mnnativelandscapes.com/pages/willow.html

17. Preventing stream bank erosion using bioengineering • Willow waddles • As these bundles of willow grow, they diffuse water, catch sediment and help to restore the bank.

18. Preventing stream bank erosion using bioengineering AFTER … Restored banks were reinforced with plantings and biodegradable erosion control fabrics. BEFORE … Badly eroded banks http://creativehabitatcorp.com/stream.html

19. Sources of moisture... • Rainwater and groundwater • Ventilation with humid outside air • Interior moisture sources

20. Sources of moisture... • Rainwater and groundwater • Without proper grading, gutters, and downspouts, water may flow into basement. • The below-grade water table can also rise due to flooding or seasonal site conditions. http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/components/7051-01.html

21. Sources of moisture... • Ventilation with humid outside air http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/components/7051-01.html

22. Sources of moisture... • Interior moisture sources http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/components/7051-01.html

23. What should already be in place in your home... • Footing drains or foundation drains

24. What should already be in place in your home... • Footing drains or foundation drains

25. What may already be in place in your home... • Sheet drains, protection boards: These may have been installed during construction, more often on new homes

26. Water in your basement? • Usually due to: • Poor installation of footing drains when home was built • Rain runoff flowing toward a house; poor grading around foundation • Malfunctioning &/or old sump pump, gutters or footing drains • High water table & poor drainage system around foundation • Clogged or broken footing drains • Poor neighborhood/watershed/drainage planning and/or engineering • Sanitary sewer back-up

27. Water in your basement? • Got mold? • Mold ID & information at our Diagnostic Lab • See fact sheet on: “Mold control and clean-up basics”

28. Water in your basement? • Danger of Electrocution • Don’t go in basement if there is an electrical problem • Have a plan in place: Put wood palates down ahead of time, to get to electrical panel or call O& R to turn off electric and gas from outside.

29. Water in your basement? • Some tips… • Have back up generator for sump pump • Wet appliances… have service technician inspect before turning back on • Fire Dept. does not pump out until water recedes

30. Solutions for water in basement... • Dehumidifier • Install plastic well covers on basement windows • Repair cracks and/or apply moisture barriers, : • Use hydraulic cement or other caulking material; see manufacturer’s recommendations for each product. • Sump pump • Gutters & downspouts • Dry wells • Slope away from foundation

31. Solutions for water in basement... • Moisture barriers: • Place on interior wall, or may have been placed with insulation when installed, or put on the outside of the foundation wall during construction of home. • Moisture barriers come in a variety of materials.

32. Solutions for water in basement... • Moisture barriers: • Common vapor barriers used with insulation include: plastic sheeting, foil sheeting, and paper that has been treated to achieve proper moisture resistance • Waterproofing coatings and sealant

33. Solutions for water in basement... • Moisture barriers, sheet drains & protection boards • Examples of products: • Ames’ Elasto-Barrier, Vapor-Barrier and Block & Wall. Ames’ Elasto-Barrier and Vapor-Barrier are rubberized elastomeric coatings for waterproofing walls and for sealing basements • Radon Seal Penetrating Concrete Sealer - penetrates inside concrete (up to 4"), expands into pores and hardens • AMERDRAIN sheet drain and protection board - installed next to the wall and slab intercepts (this is sometimes used in new construction of homes) • collects ground water before it reaches the structure • see fact sheet: “Moisture Protection: Causes of Deterioration”

34. Solutions for water in basement... • Sump Pumps http://www.statefarm.com/consumer/vhouse/articles/wetbsmnt.htm

35. http://www.statefarm.com/consumer/vhouse/articles/sumpump.htmhttp://www.statefarm.com/consumer/vhouse/articles/sumpump.htm

36. http://www.statefarm.com/consumer/vhouse/articles/sumpump.htmhttp://www.statefarm.com/consumer/vhouse/articles/sumpump.htm

37. http://www.statefarm.com/consumer/vhouse/articles/sumpump.htmhttp://www.statefarm.com/consumer/vhouse/articles/sumpump.htm

38. Solutions: Gutters • Extend downspouts & allow water to run overland • Attach to an above- or under-ground catch basin • Attach to a solid underground drainpipe to a dry well • Keep gutters clean

39. Solutions: Gutters & downspouts • At least 4 feet away from the house • Install a splash block and, if needed, gravel • illustrations by Tom Moore

40. No gutters? Better to have gutters, but... • In houses without gutters, a drip line collection system will solve foundation leakage problems. http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/print/0,17071,228010,00.html

41. Solutions: Dry wells Dry wells can be used to receive water from roof tops (gutters), driveways, or water-logged yards http://www.lgpc.state.ny.us/DryWell.pdf

42. Solutions: Dry wells • An in-ground, perforated tank that collects water and lets the water seep into the ground • It should sit on a gravel bed, be surrounded by gravel and wrapped with landscape fabric that holds out silt.

43. Solutions: Dry wells http://www.lgpc.state.ny.us/DryWell.pdf

44. Solutions: Dry wells • Plastic dry wells can deal with small drainage problems • Larger pre-cast concrete dry wells require machinery to be installed and handle larger quantities of water. See extra fact sheet: “Standard for Dry Wells”

45. Can homeowner connect drain outlets to street storm drains? • Must talk to village or town engineer before doing so!!! • Never connect to sewer lines!

46. Solutions: Rain barrels...

47. Solutions: Grading your soil • Slope down, away from the house • Grading over existing plant roots • Soft after grading • Keep soil from touching wood • Where not possible, consider berms

48. Solutions: Terracing • On steep slopes, create terraces

49. Waterlogged yard? • Low, waterlogged spots in the yard: • Regrade: At least 1 inch of slope for every 5 feet • French drains, berms, raised beds

50. Solutions: French drain • Sub-surface drainage: • French drains • at the base of slopes • along base of retaining walls • any area where water collects • Call landscape contractor for installation • Check utility lines underground first