How to Keep Ground Water Away from Your House

How to keep groundwater away from your house depends on where the water comes from and the main drainage problem you need to fix. You can extend the downspouts, build a swale, install catch basins and French drains, or regrade the yard.

Water pooling around the foundation walls can lead to severe structural damage and costly foundation repairs. Learn how to avoid it using all the above methods and more.

In this article, we’ll cover the following groundwater diversion methods:

Extend the downspouts 6 feet from the house

When downspouts release rainwater too close to the house: 

• Water infiltrates the soil and reaches around and under the house’s foundation, affecting its ability to support the weight of the house.
• Your basement and crawl space can get flooded.
• Its high volume and speed also erode the ground, creating low spots with standing water that further increase foundation problems.

 To fix it, you need to extend the downspouts. How much? Here’s an expert’s opinion.

“When integrating downspouts into a storm drain system is not an option, downspout extensions must be installed that terminate a minimum of 6-10 feet away from the home,” says Cody Far Baenziger, a Certified Master Inspector with the NonProfit Home Inspections organization.

However, this rule only works for properly sloped terrain. As Baenziger mentions, “This may need to be adjusted based on the slope of the exterior grade. The ground around the home should slope away from the home a minimum of 6 inches for the first 10 feet to prevent water from draining back toward the foundation.”

An alternative for a level yard is to connect the downspouts with an underground pipe system and divert water further from the house to prevent it from flowing back.

Note: Clean the gutters at the start of the rainy season and whenever you see signs of clogging. Otherwise, downspouts can’t do their job.

Install collection boxes (catch basins)

Catch basins are 12-inch-square boxes installed into the ground. They are suitable for catching rainwater and runoff. The top has a grate to remove debris and pipes that drive collected water away from the house. 

A Central Florida drainage staple, catch basins can be installed under the downspouts and anywhere in the yard where water pools after heavy rain.

Grade the soil around the house

Yard flooding and water pooling along the building walls are sure signs that the grading around your house is faulty and that your yard has poor drainage. 

You need to intervene fast. Standing water close to the house means moisture infiltrates the home’s foundation, leading to stains, mold, and a flooded basement. Damp soil can settle under the house’s weight, leading to foundation cracks that threaten the home’s structural integrity.

Fix this drainage problem by filling the low spots and grading the soil from the house down toward the yard. Ideally, the soil would go down 1 inch per foot for at least 6 feet away from the house. 

Reroute surface water with a diversion swale

Is your house downslope from surrounding neighbors? Sloping the soil around the building is a good start to protect the foundation, but more is needed to keep water away from your house. One thing to do is create a diversion swale.

Swales are broad, shallow trenches created between a slope and a berm. They have soft slopes that lead water downhill at a low speed, allowing the soil to absorb most of the runoff. They can help divert runoff from nearby slopes and also lead surface water gathered across the yard or released by downspouts away from the house.

Swales are more effective in large yards, where they can be designed to drive the water over long distances. For smaller yards, Building America Solution Center experts recommend installing French drains.

Collect subsurface water with French drains

French drains collect water using corrugated and perforated pipes. Usually made of PVC, these pipes are installed in a small trench and covered with gravel, a geotextile fabric, and a thin layer of soil. 

French drains are primarily meant to drain the subsurface water that imbibes the soil after heavy rain. They do an excellent job of draining the soil around the house and reducing the moisture your concrete basement walls might otherwise absorb. 

You can also install them across the yard to capture and direct water from flooding areas to dry ones.

Learn more about French drains from our guides:

• “6 Benefits of a French Drain”
• “How to Install a French Drain”
• “How Much Does a French Drain Cost in 2024?”

Install a drain tile system around the basement

This method collects and removes accumulated water under the basement floor and around its walls, preventing basement flooding.

Also known as a sump pump or a drain tile system, it uses French drains installed around the basement footing. The drains open into a sump basin where water is collected. When the basin fills up, a pump starts moving water at the soil surface, where it is disposed of in a safe place in your yard, far from the house.

Note: A sump pump system is the best solution for a wet basement, protecting the house’s foundation from water damage when other measures fail.

Collect and manage water around decks

Because decks are attached to the house walls, water flowing through or across their structure can easily accumulate near the building’s foundation. Worse, you can’t even see what happens beneath the deck.

Install an under-deck drainage system to prevent damage to your foundation and basement (or crawl space). It uses impermeable plastic sheeting to collect rainwater from the deck’s surface and lead it toward special downspouts. From there, a rain gutter with another downspout takes the water away from the house.

Design with permeable paving

You can prevent foundation troubles and improve the yard’s drainage by installing permeable driveways, walkways, and sideways made of materials such as:

• Porous brick
• Permeable concrete
• Interlocking pavers

Permeable paving allows rainwater to pass through its structure. These materials extend the surface to absorb rainwater and prevent excess water from pooling wherever it finds a suitable place.

Alternative solution: Install channel drains along the paved areas (driveways, walkways, patio) to capture and redirect rainfall. 

Direct water to effective disposal areas

All that water you redirect away from the house needs to go somewhere. In other words, your drainage system requires a disposal place. Here are a few options to consider:

• Rain barrels — Maybe the easiest to install, a rain barrel is suitable for collecting water flowing through the downspouts. You’ll need a barrel large enough to hold most of the water falling from heavy rain in your location.
• Rain garden — Rain gardens are low spots planted with water-loving plants. Install one in your yard in an area with good drainage.
• Dry stream — Also known as dry creeks, dry streams look like river beds. Instead of water, they are filled with gravel, rocks, or plants.
• Dry well — Dry wells are holes dug into the soil. Some are filled with gravel, others include a prefabricated plastic container, or they are built with concrete. Dry wells collect water and allow it to drain through holes in their walls.
• Garden pond — If you have a pond installed in your yard, you can direct rainwater towards it through pipes, trenches, or sloping.

Alternatively, you can divert the water anywhere in the yard where there are no drainage issues or chances the water will flow back, increasing the drainage problems around the house. Consider areas that can benefit from the additional water, such as a drought-prone lawn, vegetable gardens, ponds, etc.

Keep the soil loose and covered around your yard

Aerate the lawn periodically, especially with clay soil, to keep it loose and improve its drainage. Mowing the turfgrass high also helps. Taller grass uses more water and has deeper roots that prevent erosion and aerate the ground.

Avoid leaving bare soil on your property. High heat and drought can seal the top layer and reduce water absorption. Plant it or cover it with mulch or gravel.

Grow water-hungry plants (but not close to the foundation). Place them in low spots or areas with drainage problems to reduce water pooling.

FAQ about keeping groundwater away from the house

What can I put around my foundation to keep water out?

To keep water out of the house’s foundation, you can cover its walls with a waterproof membrane and install a drain tile system around the perimeter.

What material is best for grading around a house?

Loam soil is typically the best material for grading around the house. It provides a good mix of drainage and stability, and it’s non-expansive (it won’t change volume with the moisture). However, we recommend taking a soil test and consulting with a soil engineer or a foundation specialist to ensure it’s a good fit for your property.

How do you keep water away from the foundation without gutters?

To keep water away from the foundation without gutters, you can use:

• Drip paths — Trenches you dig along your home’s base, filling it with rocks, gravel, and bricks.
• French drains — Trenches with gravel and perforated pipes that lead water away from the house
• Rain chains (kusari doi) — Chains that use surface tension to direct water away from the house and into a drainage area

Keep in mind, though, that gutters are the most effective.

Hire a professional to keep the house safe from flooding

When protecting the house from water, the stakes are high. Don’t risk costly foundation repairs. Find a landscaping professional with Lawn Love to reshape the yard and give your house the best chance against heavy rainfall.

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