Excess of water - Drainage + cistern

[jansang]

Hello,

I found your website and you seem to be a helpful person so here's my problem:
we have water standing in our garden since last autumn! we have ca. 30cm of topsoil and underneath London clay. i have dug up the former owners trenches left and right but they don't do anything (20mx5m is the garden space i need drenched and my trenches run along the sides, ca. 30cm deep). the neighbors gardens are also quite wet (water standing more or less permanently). there seems to be water underneath the clay or going through it as well, when digging tiny clear springs kept coming up... it almost seems like the water level has risen while the level of the ground has fallen (it's not level anymore with the bit of patio, which it was when we moved in 2 years ago). can that be?

what i'm looking for is a drainage system into a cistern with a pump so at least i can make use of the water in summer, with an overflow to where the rainwater from the roof goes. does that make sense?

i have asked and browsed around for ages now, am aware of the costs but can't seem to find anybody who does this sort of thing in London.
any ideas where to look? if i cant have the pump it's not a drama, but we'd like our garden back!
many thanks indeed in advance and hope to be hearing from you soon.

[Tony McC]

What you are looking for is a rainwater harvesting system. If you were up here in the civilised part of the country, I could give you half a dozen names, but for reasons that I just can't fathom, there is a dearth of drainage contractors in that London. Obviously, there must be some around, otherwise you'd all be wallowing in your own filth (some might say that is actually the case!) but none of them have bothered to get themselves listed on my Contractor's Database.

In such situations, a solution that often works is to find the local builder's or contractor's merchant. Ask to speak to the manager, or anyone other than the gormless yoof on the counter, and get him/her to reveal who, amongst their customers, is the go-to-guy for all matters drainage related. They know who;s buying pipes and fittings on a regular basis, and they usually know who are the cowboys and who are the good guys, so it can be a valuable source of information, especially if they think there's a chance they'll be supplying the rainwater tank!

[jansang]

thank you Tony for your fast reply! i'll do more research under 'water harvesting' and once i know what i have to look out for i'll venture into the merchants. would you maybe have a drawing or sketch for me to cling to? sometimes it's hard for a female to make herself understood by builders even with the simplest of matters...
cheers from the bottom of the world
janina

[flowjoe]

Take a look at these guys
Water Harvesting

I do not know them but its a good quality site with plenty of info and they too are from the land of second rate football teams.

Hope this helps

[Suggers]

Hey Joe - your link no work for me....

[flowjoe]

Try here Water Harvesting