Help With Driveway Drainage

[UOFan]

Hi everyone -

I have some time off and would like to fix my crush-and-run driveway’s drainage. Water flows across the driveway downhill and is washing out the grass on the downhill side.

My main idea is a really long French drain system with multiple inlet catches on the downhill side. Here are some photos that I just took:

This first photo shows the driveway leading to my house. The left side is the downhill side, you can see it’s washing the grass away. The right side is also slightly washing sand onto the driveway. There is a berm on the right side you can see in later photos.

My idea is to put a French drain along the blue line.

In this photo, the purple “squares” roughly represent where I would put inlet catches/grates to allow the water to flow into the drain pipe.

Here is the view from the downhill (end) of the driveway. The blue line is the potential French drain. It would also serve to catch runoff from my carport roof (no gutters).

Here is a wider photo that shows the berm on the right (uphill) side.

Finally, here is a top view of the driveway.

I am happy to hear all your opinions and comments. Thank you for any advice.

Bryan

 

[2manyrocks]

Is water coming down the driveway and then flowing into the grass where the blue line is located because the grass is downhill?

Would it be possible to divert the water off the driveway with a simple dip and avoid all the excavation for the french drain?

https://dirtandgravel.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/TB_Broad-Based_Dips.pdf

 

[Mud2Money]

I wouldn’t put a French drain at the low side. To fight water you have to begin at the source. The sooner it’s caught and diverted the better.

 

[UOFan]

Is water coming down the driveway and then flowing into the grass where the blue line is located because the grass is downhill?

Would it be possible to divert the water off the driveway with a simple dip and avoid all the excavation for the french drain?

https://dirtandgravel.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/TB_Broad-Based_Dips.pdf

Yes, water tends to flow towards the blue side because it is the downhill side. The water then runs along the blue line and laterally off into the grass.

Where would you recommend that dip divert the water to?

 

[Egon]

Consider a shallow drainage ditch on either side of the road. ??

 

[2manyrocks]

Yes, water tends to flow towards the blue side because it is the downhill side. The water then runs along the blue line and laterally off into the grass.

Where would you recommend that dip divert the water to?

You'd have to study the elevations to find somewhere to divert the water so it doesn't run towards your house. I assume the berm was made to divert water from flowing down the hill onto your house and yard. Perhaps you could divert water into the berm?

Rather than excavating to make the dip, I'd think about bringing in a load of gravel to compact to make one.

 

[ljgordon]

First, I would gutter the house and shed to divert the water away from the driveway. Then I would plant some hardy ground cover along the driveway.

 

[dodge man]

You may need to divert the water, that might be a problem, but it seems like your grass isn’t growing very well anywhere and doesn’t have anything to do with erosion. When it rains that probably tells the story on if anything needs done.

 

[2manyrocks]

A gutter on at least the house side of the carport would be easier to install than digging a french drain in that area and keep water from running onto you walking in and out of the carport.

dodge man just gave you a very practical tip. The easiest way to see where the water is coming from and going is to go outside during a pretty good rain and watch to see how the water is flowing. You might place some marking flags in the ground during a rain to mark the spots where you want to make changes. Finding the right place to divert water can make a big difference.

 

[EddieWalker]

Every French Drain will fail. It's just a matter of time. For that reason, I'm not a fan of them.

A ditch works 100% of the time, forever. I think the biggest hurdle in digging the ditch is getting started. Once you start moving material, shaping it so you can mow it and make it look nice, it becomes a very doable project.

I don't believe the grass isn't growing because it's getting too much water next to the driveway. I'm guess it's not growing there because people drive over it, but it could also be that your soil is just really bad there. Either way, I would put up a barrier to stop people from driving over it, like a big boulder, or a few shrubs, or a temporary fence. Just a stick with a string will work. Then I would spread some top soil, through out some grass seed, and water it every day.