Soakaways! - Is a soakaway the right option?

[AndyA]

Hi There

I have recently moved into a house with a large wet back garden. The lawned area is approx 875 sq yards and gently slopes away from near right to far left. There are then some mature trees 35-40ft tall and approx another 150sq yards of wooded area. The wooded area is dry and the water stops in front of the trees where the incline also stops. When it rains a huge puddle quickly develops in front of the trees. All of the lawned area is wet, spongy and mossy with a high water content. I have dug a hole and the earth consists of about 500mm of top soil and then a solid bank of clay about 300 -400mm deep so I appreciate there is no where for the water to go. I was thinking of building a soakaway(s) where the puddle forms that goes deeper than the clay level. Will this be any good if there are no drainage pipes to it? I was wondering if it would act a little like a plug hole and release some of the banked up water. If drains were needed would these sit on top of the clay bed? Everyone seems to have an opinion but they all conflict

Yours.. a confused AndyA

[Tony McC]

A soakaway only works if it is constructed in a permeable layer. It won't work in clay, so you'd need to dig down to a permeable layer beneath the clay, assuming such a layer exists.

[TheRobster]

Build a pond/wetland system where the water gathers. Plant lots of reeds. Watch water evaporate.

(Assuming that a pond/wetland is okay from a safety point of view i.e. you have no children who are likely to throw themselves in it).