March 24, 2013

When it rains in Michigan, it pours.  That seems to be an understatement for the latest spring we are experiencing. We have experienced a couple of flooding situations due to the rains in the past few seasons and the effects include not only a great kick start to awaking the grass from dormancy, but unfortunately, storm water with nowhere to go.

In all the years that we have created and installed drainage and soil erosion solutions, last year was by far the busiest for us, and this year is shaping up to be the same.  Standing water that was once tolerable, became a small pond; saturated soils that were once “just a bit soggy” became impassable even in bare feet; drain tiles that were once sufficient, failed miserably; and if you can believe it, personal property damage due to vehicles using lawn areas as roads, where established roads were then impassible.

Over the past few years, we have been working on drainage programs for quite a few residential developments located in Ann Arbor and surrounding communities.  The solutions we executed over the previous two winters saved many of the residents from damaging floods.  We have also completed many drainage project sand erosion solutions to individual residents of these developments, those with sump pump and other standing water problems.

The sources of our success include: (1) our civil and structural engineer, (2) the extensive experience of our Project Manager, (3) our highly-trained technicians and (4) use of appropriately compatible materials and products. Combined, these resources have produced systems that positively and effectively manage storm water drainage and soil erosion. Our solutions are built for longevity.

Sump Pump Homeowner Hints:

1.   Assure sump pump has an overflow on it

2.   Assure sump pump has a positive exit for water to flow

3.   Assure pipe is not corrugated, but a Schedule 35 or better, to assist in eliminating potential freezing and tree roots entering

4.   Assure you have a battery back up (for power outages).