Bulkhead drainage concern

[Enigma007x]

Hey guys. This is my first time posting here. I am not an inspector, just a home owner who has a drainage concern. This seems like a great place to get some of the best advice!

I have attached a picture of the little area that I am dealing with. I recently found that the previous home owner had piled some dirt up against the bulkhead to prevent water from collecting in this little strip between our pool pump slab and the bulkhead. This was working fine, but the bulkhead was beginning to rust because of the constant moisture from the soil contact.

In the picture, I dug out all of the soil until I had a bit of the concrete from the bulkhead sticking above the ground. Now, I have a trench that water will likely collect in. The yard to the left in the picture has a pitch towards the bulkhead, and the rest of the yard is pretty much level with a very subtle grade to the right of where I am standing. If I dig the trench any deeper to create even more of an angle away from the house, it would be below the level of the rest of the yard.

Is there any recommended way to deal with a situation like this?

I appreciate any help that can be offered!

Thanks,

Enigma

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[Marc]

With only the photo and your comment to go on, I'd extend the bounds of your lawn-grading effort a little further out from that little patch of soil between the bulkhead and concrete pad. I'd extend it as far as necessary to get the water to drain where you want it to go.

Marc

[Enigma007x]

Thanks for the response! I guess I didn't fully explain my concerns.

The problem that I em encountering is that the rest of the yard is at the same level as what I have done here. There is very little grade in the dirt patch along the bulkhead, and I brought it to same grade as the rest of the yard where it ends at the front of the bulkhead. I can't really go any further into the yard because it would end up lower than the rest of the yard.

I am concerned that water is going to come down along the slab (from the left), fall into the little trench and, with very little grade along the bulkhead, it will pool there (it couldn't before because it was built up).

I think I could probably put some of that plastic that is used to edge gardens along the slab to keep that water from running off into the trench (as if the built up soil was still there), but I almost always over-complicate things when there is an easier solution I didn't think of.

[Jerry Simon]

Fill the trench with concrete.

[Marc]

Ok. As I understand it, a portion of the property is level and the rest is higher and drains onto the level portion. The house is on the level portion.

You might grade the line that separates the level portion from the incline portion to produce a gentle, shallow swale, then grade that swale to the municipal drainage opening, wherever that is.

Keep in mind that someone on site might advise differently because when you're onsite, you might see other conditions that changes the whole Rx.

If there's a basement to the house then an inspector on site might be your best move.

Marc