Yard Drainage & Flooding

Your yard plays an important role in protecting your home from flooding. A properly graded yard can minimize minor drainage problems and prevent more serious flooding conditions.

  1. Proper Yard Grading
  2. Grading & Drainage Changes
  3. How Residents Can Help

In general, a properly graded yard will have some or all of the following characteristics:

  • Ground sloping away from the house - The ground surrounding your home should be graded away from your house’s foundation to ensure that stormwater flows away from the house and not towards it.
  • Pavement sloping away from the house - Driveways, sidewalks and patios should be graded away from your house’s foundation to ensure that the stormwater flows away from the house and not towards it.
  • Drainage path towards the city’s Stormwater Management System - Stormwater runoff from your yard should have an unobstructed path towards the City’s system. Many residential properties have swales in the side and rear yards which carry water towards inlets within the yard, a neighboring yard or the street. Some properties are graded such that the stormwater can flow directly into a creek, ditch or basin.