Downspout Drainage & Dry Wells in Delaware County, PA

A roof sheds a startling amount of water, thousands of gallons in a single storm, and if your downspouts dump it right at the foundation, no amount of regrading or French drain elsewhere will keep the yard dry. Managing that collected water is often the highest-return drainage work you can do.

Downspout extensions & catch basins

The first move is almost always to carry roof water away from the house, an above-ground extension or a buried pipe running it out to a better spot. Where surface water collects (the bottom of a driveway, a patio edge, a low gate), a catch basin, a grated box that swallows water and pipes it away, or a channel drain does the same job for water running across the top of the ground. These are the workhorses: unglamorous, relatively inexpensive, and often all a yard needs.

Dry wells: where the water goes when there's no outlet

Sometimes you've collected the water but have nowhere lower to send it: no street, no slope, no daylight point. That's what a dry well is for: an underground pit filled with gravel (or a perforated chamber) that holds the water and lets it seep out slowly into the surrounding soil. Downspouts and catch basins feed it; the ground does the rest. Think of it as a buffer that takes the surge from a storm and releases it gently.

When a dry well works in clay, and when it doesn't

Here's the honest catch in Delaware County: a dry well only works if the surrounding soil can actually absorb water, and Delco's clay is slow to do that. In heavy clay, a dry well can fill faster than it drains and back up. The fixes are to size it generously, place it where the soil percolates better, or, when the clay just won't cooperate, skip the dry well and pipe the water to a real outlet or a pump instead. A contractor should judge how your soil drains before recommending one. If someone proposes a dry well without asking where your water can go, be skeptical.

What downspout drainage & dry wells cost

Downspout work is the budget-friendly end of drainage; dry wells cost more because of the excavation and materials. The drivers: how far the water has to travel, how many downspouts or basins, the size of the dry well, and the digging (clay and depth).

Downspout & dry well work across Delaware County

We handle roof-water drainage throughout Delco, including Media, Drexel Hill, Springfield, Havertown, Broomall, Newtown Square, Aston, Ridley, Glen Mills. See all service areas →

Keep reading

• Standing water in Delaware County: the full guide
• Yard Regrading, best for water pooling near the house.
• French Drains, best for a chronically soggy strip or wet line.