Many homeowners have giant pools of standing water in their yards and need to know how to move it. Today I’m going to explain how to install a downspout catch basin to move bulk water to a pop-up emitter to discharge that water away from your yard.
Convenient Installation
Downspout catch basins are a convenient drainage solution for homeowners. If you’re not installing them on a day-to-day basis, you want a user-friendly drainage solution. These inline basins are just that. Installation doesn’t require any tools or skills. We’re going to show you just how easy it is to put in an inline basin.
First, for downspouts, use a solid pipe, not a perforated pipe with holes. This system is a surface water collection system, not a French drain. The inline basin snaps easily into the solid drainpipe.
The downspout catch basin has holes drilled into it to allow the water to leech out after a rain event. There’s going to be some water left in the basin. Remember, this is a small basin. It won’t take much to leech that dry. That way, you won’t have a mosquito hatchery or during hot weather, a strong odor that accompanies standing water.
Remember to always put your inline basins at the lowest points that you mark in the yard.
Next, put the fabric down and put the inline basin on top of the fabric. Pack stone on top of the fabric, and set the downspout catch basin on top. Burrito wrap the fabric and pin it. Once you’ve done that, you can put the native soil right back on top of it.
We install the pop-up emitter the exact same way. We also have a downspout pop-up emitter that is our pop-up emitter catch basin hybrid, and it has a sump in the bottom.
Downspout Catch Basin in Action
A lot of people ask us to catch the downspout catch basin in action to show what it does during a rain event.
In this instance, we had heavy rain that caused a lot of surface water. Normally the water would collect and pool, but since we installed inline basins in every pothole, we were able to collect all that water. The water then flowed to the pop-up emitter and was discharged away from the house and the low-lying areas in the yard.
Set Inline Catch Basin on Slope
When you collect water in an inline basin underground, you use a solid pipe to move the water through the high points that typically dam up the water. When the water’s running into a low spot in that backyard, that’s the perfect place to collect the water. You just keep hitting all the points of water collection with a downspout catch basin to clear that surface water out.
To set this up correctly, dig a little deeper at the high points to make sure that you have some slope. Only about a 1% slope is needed. You don’t have to work that hard to achieve that because these inlet basins are designed to grab up the water.
You saw above how well they work on a 1% slope. A 1% slope is easy to achieve, and you don’t end up digging too deep. If you try for 2% or 3% and you’re going to get deep in a hurry. You don’t need that much of a slope. Just get a 1% slope on the downspout catch basin, take it to a pop-up emitter, and discharge it in the desired area of your yard.
Why a Downspout Catch Basin is the Best Option
Using a downspout catch basin to move water away from your home is the best way to build a yard drainage system. The last thing you want is to bring in dirt and manually fill in these low spots. Instead, put a collection basin in the low spots and you’re done. You’re well on your way to having a drier, more enjoyable yard that you can be proud of.
Instead of the kids and the dogs splashing through the mud and playing in the puddles, discharge the water at the time of that rain event. You evacuate the water quickly. If you evacuate it quickly, you avoid saturated soil. The reason your yard gets all soft and muddy is because the water was left to lay there.
This is as easy as it gets. When it comes to water control, a buried downspout with a catch basin is the easiest system for homeowners, DIYers, and contractors to install.
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