Flood Prevention vs Drainage System
Do you want your French Drain to prevent flooding or to drain away water after if floods?
This is a series of blogs that first explains exactly what French Drains and Surface Drains are, and how they are used in a Drainage System.
Next, I will explain exactly what the benefits and drawbacks are of each type of drain and why you would use one type of drain over another in many different situations.
Last, I will explain the specifics of how to install your own Drainage System and how to diagnose exactly what type of system you need in the first place.
A final thought on Intakes as part of a Drainage System. Remember, an Intake is a French Drain or a Surface Drain. It is the part of the Drainage System that draws water into the Drainpipe.
Make a Decision
Once you have decided where and how many Intakes your drainage system needs, ( how many and what kind of Drains ) the next thing to think about is the Transition other wise known as the Drainpipe. For a typical Drainage System there are three choices of Drain Pipe by Size. ( 3 Inch, 4 Inch, and 6 Inch )
Three inch is least expensive but can easily be overwhelmed if a large amount of water needs to be drained away.
Four inch is by far the most common. It also can be overwhelmed if too many Intakes (Drains) are connected to it.
Six Inch Drain Pipe is almost never overwhelmed, but it is bulky and hard to work with and is by far the most expensive.
4 Inch Drainpipe before it goes in the trench
What Do I mean by overwhelmed?
It means that water is going to the Problem Drainage Area faster than the Pipe can move it away.
This is very important to some people and not important at all to others. Here is why!
Really, think for a minute about why you want to install a Drain in the first place.
Do you want to prevent water from ever reaching Problem Drainage Area? Or is it OK for water to reach the Problem Drainage Area and then be drained away over time.
If, for example, you are trying to protect your prize plants, you don’t want flood water reaching them at all. Or you might be trying to prevent water from reaching part of your house because it then runs into the basement. You don’t want water, under any circumstances, to reach a specific spot or area. If this is the case, You want a
A Flood Prevention System is actually a type of Drainage System; However the goal is different and that can change the Design.
On the other hand if you don’t mind so much if water gets into the Problem Drainage Area, you just want it to drain away in a relatively short amount of time. This is called a
If your motivation is to have a Flood Prevention System, Then the Drainpipe being overwhelmed is a really bad thing. It means that your Flood Prevention System has failed. Your Drainpipe could not move the water fast enough to provide the Safety that you desire. Your plants have drowned and your basement has flooded.
If your motivation
is to have a Drainage System, Then the Drainpipe being overwhelmed is not so bad. Even though water is flowing into the Problem Drainage Area faster than the Drainpipe can take it away, The Drainpipe is still moving a lot of water and eventually the rain will stop and the Drainpipe will catch up. In relatively a short amount of time, the water will be gone.
French Drain Installation in Edmond
What you want, dictates how you design your Drainage System!
Drainage Systems are not as robust as Flood Prevention Systems. A Flood Prevention System has all the same basic concepts and structure as a regular drainage system, just more!
If you want a Flood Prevention System, the goal is to intercept water before it runs somewhere.
This means:
- More Intakes ( Lots of Drains) French or Surface
- Larger Drains, 6 inch French Drains, or 18-inch Surface Drains for example
- Larger Transitions ( Larger Pipe)
- More Transitions ( More Pipes)
- Larger Drainage Exits
- More Drainage Exits
I know we haven’t talked about Drainage Exits, but we will in the next blog.
A Drainage System is less of everything listed above.
Obviously, a Drainage System is less expensive, less evasive, and easier to install.
When determining what type of Drain you need for your Drainage System. In our last blog, we talked about Surface Water and Sub-Surface water and why you need to understand them before designing your Drainage System. I
Before we get into Water Movement, we need to discuss Surface Drains.
Surface Drains come in many shapes and sizes. The two most common are Basin Drains and Channel Drains.
A Basin Drain has a Square Grate, and it sits on top of a catch basin. It will have a single pipe connected to it or it will have a drain pipe running into it and a pipe running out of it. We used this picture in a previous blog, but I want to show it to you again.
Below is a Basin before the pipe is connected to both sides. The pipe is cut and connected to one side. Another piece of Drainpipe is connected to the other side. The Drainpipe does not run straight through the basin. Water must have a way to enter the Drainpipe. The Surface Drain in the picture is the most common size used in residential applications. The Drainpipe connecting to it is 4 inch ADS Solid Drainpipe.
For a Surface Drain to work well it must be placed in a low lying area of standing water. It is not intended to intercept moving water or to drain away Sub-Surface water.
In review, detecting Surface Water is straight forward. You can observe how it flows into the Problem Drainage Area.
Sub-Surface water is not so easy. You can’t see it move into the problem area. So What do you do?
First take a look at your soil. What type of soil do you have?
Soil with a lot of clay will have less Sub-Surface Water, Maybe none at all. If you do have some it will move into the area slowly. If you have sandy soil the underground water will move there in a hurry. Most people will have something in between.
To be sure, a few simple tests can help.
Next check the problem drainage area when there is no water standing in it. Is it soft and mushy when the surrounding area is more firm? This is an indication that Sub-Surface Water is still flowing into the area. Another way to collect information is to dig a small hole about a foot deep in the area. Check it every day for several days. If water is standing in the hole, you have a Sub-Surface Water issue. How fast it flows into the hole is also important.
Underground Water – Sub-Surface
OK, you have Sub-Surface water along with Surface Water in your problem drainage area. Your Choice for the correct “Intake” for your Drainage System should be a French Drain.
OK, You have no Sub-Surface water. You only have Surface Water flowing into the problem area. You need a French Drain If you are trying to intercept the water as it comes into the area. Many times water will run around the surface drain and still flood the area. Also the Surface Drain is much more easily overwhelmed and water will run past it that way too. Again, this is very important, If you are trying to intercept water before it gets to where its going, don’t use a Surface Drain.
A Surface Drain should be used in a Medium to Low Volume Water situation. The water needs to be stationary or moving very slowly. It should be placed in an area that is the lowest point in the Problem Drainage area. They also work well in smaller confined areas such as pool decks, along sidewalks, or in flower beds.
More than one Surface Drain can be connected to one drainpipe in a “Daisy Chain” of Drains if you have several low spots in a larger area.
French Drain
In many cases a small French drain can be installed in almost every place that a Surface Drain might be installed. People opt for a Surface Drain over a French Drain because they like the way the Surface Drain looks more than the way the French Drain looks. For some People, Looks are more important than functionality.
are set in concrete or dirt but dirt is not always the best idea. Setting a channel drain in dirt should only be done when a shallow surface drain is needed and that is the only option.
Setting a Surface Drain in Concrete such as a driveway or a Sidewalk is a good application for a Surface Drain. Many times it is better to install a French Drain in your yard over a Surface Drain. What ever makes you happy!
French Drains can be made to look very decorative.
In conclusions,
French Drains are used for : 1. Higher water volume situations 2. Intercepting moving Surface Water 3. Solving Sub-Surface water problems
Surface Drains are used for: 1. Smaller water volume situations 2. Standing Surface Water that has reached its destination 3. Smaller and more confined areas 4. Set in concrete such as sidewalks or Driveways
Sprinkler Repair Edmond Oklahoma. Oklahoma Drainage and Sprinkler Repair has provided Expert Sprinkler Repair in Edmond since 1993. Sprinkler Valves can have issues or leak. Controllers have programming issues. Sprinkler heads need to be adjusted or moved. Sprinkler pipes break. We can help with all of these things.
Recently in Edmond
Many times, Sprinkler heads get, “Out of Wack.” Lawn mowers and weed eaters are notorious for this. Sprinkler heads start spraying water in the wrong place. It is frustrating to water concrete while plants and grass go without moisture.
Recently we had a customer who had sprinkler heads that were spraying out into the street more than they were hitting her yard.
The problem sprinkler head was out of adjustment. The Rotor Sprinkler Head was turning too far to the right as it turned. Water was spraying across the road and into the neighbor’s yard.
The Sprinkler Head Adjustment only took a few minutes. Our customer then requested that we check the entire sprinkler system. We started at Zone one and carefully put each zone through its Pases.
Sprinkler Controller Help
Sprinkler Controller Programming is sometimes difficult.
We can help with programming or replace a Sprinkler Module if it is defective.
“Start Time” programing many times is confusing for homeowners. The definition of a Start Time is a time that is chosen for the sprinkler system to start watering. It causes zone 1 to start running. When zone 1 is finished it automatically stops and zone 2 begins. When Zone 2 is complete it stops and zone 3 begins. Simple enough Right! This continues until the last zone programed available runs.
The confusion begins when people think that a time needs to be set to start zone 2 and 3 and so on. This is not the case. They follow zone 1 which has the only Start Time programmed into the controller.
Sprinkler Controller
Sprinkler Controllers have a feature providing multiple start times, up to 4 Start Times are usually available. These additional start times are only used when a person wants to run the entire system more than once in a 24-hour period.
For Example, the first Start Time is set at 9Am. Zone 1 begins to run at 9am. When Zone 1 is done, say 10 minutes later, Zone 2 begins and runs for 10 minutes, then zone 3 follows and so on. By 10 am let’s say all the zones have run. Let’s say 8 hours later you have a second start time at 6 Pm. Zone 1 comes on and runs and by 7pm all the zones have run again. So, the controller has 2 start times which have caused the Sprinkler System to run start to finish twice in a 24-hour period.
Here is the big problem! Some Homeowners believe the second start time is to start zone 2 running. They also think that the 3rd start time is to start zone 3 and the 4-start time is to run zone 4. No!!
The Mistake
So, this is how they program the controller. At 9am they have a start time and zone 1 starts. The homeowner programs a second start time at 9:10 am to mistakenly start zone 2. Nope! It starts zone 1 all over again. At 9:2o they have a 3rd start time for zone 3. Nope! It starts zone 1 for a third time. Now the controller is stuck in a loop and zone 1 runs constantly and won’t shut off.
“Run Time,” is completed Next. It determines how long each zone runs. Zone One 10 Minutes, Zone Two, 15 Minutes, Zone Three 8 Minutes. You can set how long you want each zone to run.
Sprinkler Valves can Freeze in the winter and stop working. They can be crushed by something heavy like a car driving across your yard. Sprinkler Valves can just wear out too. Unfortunately, when this occurs, they can get stuck in the “ON Position.”
Oklahoma Drainage and Sprinkler Repair have been installing and servicing Sprinkler Valves since 1993.
What Is a Sprinkler Valve?
Think of a Sprinkler Valve as an “Off or On” Switch. The Sprinkler Controller turns the valves on or off.
It Sends a signal through a wire which is underground to the sprinkler valve somewhere in your yard.
Once turned on, the valve lets water pass through a sprinkler pipe to a specific group of sprinkler heads called a Sprinkler Zone. The controller allows water to reach the sprinkler heads for a certain amount of time running through the sprinkler valve. Once the time is up, it shuts off the sprinkler valve and moves on to the next valve in sequence.
Think of it as walking into every room in your house one at a time. As you enter you turn on the light. As you leave you turn off the light and move to the next room. You are the controller. The light switch represents the sprinkler valve.
What causes a Sprinkler Valve to stop working?
Like anything else, a sprinkler valve can wear out. Sprinkler valves fail in closed position. It won’t run continuously if it breaks.
Sprinkler Valves get stuck while running sometimes. The water supply must be then turned off to stop the Sprinkler from running.
Sprinkler Valves can freeze and break in the winter if the sprinkler system has not been properly drained for winter’s cold.
(winterized)
Tree roots can twist or break sprinkler pipes running into sprinkler valves. Magnolia Trees are really bad about this. Oak trees can cause damage too.
Driving something heavy across your yard can crush sprinkler valves. Usually riding lawnmowers don’t cause damage but any truck or car will if you drive over a valve.
Sprinkler Repair Service Provided by Oklahoma Drainage and Sprinkler Repair
Since 1993 we have Replaced Sprinkler Valves that were sticking or were wore out.
Thousands of Sprinkler Heads have been adjusted.
Countless Sprinkler Controllers have been Reprogramed or Replaced.
We also have fixed a broken Sprinkler Pipe or Two. Seems like a million. Ok, not that many.
I wonder how many? A lot!!!!
Oklahoma Drainage and Sprinkler Repair provides Service for all of Central Oklahoma Including: Oklahoma City, Norman, Edmond, Moore, Yukon and Mustang.
Emergency Sprinkler Repair
Sometimes things go wrong with sprinkler systems.
One Common problem is that they continue to run and won’t shut off. In most cases this is a problem with a sprinkler valve that has “Stuck” in the on position.
This can be temporarily solved by shutting of the Emergency Shutoff Valve. The problem is that some sprinkler systems don’t have one to turn off or if they do the homeowner doesn’t know where it is.
It may be on the back-flow valve which may be located on the side of the house under a big plastic fake rock.
Many sprinkler systems in Oklahoma have them. (50 % ?) Under the plastic rock is a back-flow valve with two shut off handles. Usually, they have blue or green or tan handles. Turn one of the handles and it should shut off the water to your sprinkler system.
Other times the Emergency Shutoff Valve is in a box in the ground out by the curb near your water meter. The valve box will have a green lid. Sometimes they are difficult to open. Many times, I had to pry them open with a flat head screwdriver.
Inside the valve box is a plastic handle that can turn off the water to the sprinkler system. It can be blue or red or grey in color.
Many times, the valve box will be full of dirt, and you can’t turn or even see the handle until some of the dirt has been dug out by hand.
Water might be shooting up in the air somewhere on your property. This can be caused by a broken sprinkler pipe or sprinkler valve.
SHUT OFF THE SPRINKLER WATER IF YOU CAN AND GIVE US A CALL.
OKLAHOMA DRAINAGE AND SPRINKLER REPAIR. SERVICING ALL OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN OKLAHOMA.
405 203 9419
Servicing Oklahoma City, Norman, Edmond and all of Central and Western Oklahoma
Central and Western Oklahoma is our Service Area since 1993.
(405) 203-9419
We rebuilt a Sprinkler System that hadn’t worked in years. This took place in West Yukon.
We started with the Valves
The Sprinkler Valves were located in the back yard near the pool. Six valves were located in one place. They were very tightly connected in one Manifold. None of the Sprinkler Valves had worked in a long time. They were Toro Valves that were over 20 years old. They all had to be replaced.
Surprisingly there was no shut-off valve for the Sprinkler Water. The water had to be shut off at the Meter so we could install a Manual Shut off valve. Once installed, the water was turned back on that ran to the house. The water that ran to the Sprinkler System was shut off with our New Shut Off Valve.
