Channel Drain or French Drain ??

[NE Snowblower]

Had my driveway paved recently and as the photo shows, water collects at the base of my lawn and then flows down the left side of the driveway and creates a sheet of ice when it gets cold. I'm going to dig a trench from left to right and then down the embankment. Would a french drain work ? Only issue is I won't be able to dig below the frost line and I'll probably need to put put 4 inch riprap on top of the french drain. Other option is a 4 ft long channel drain with grate with 3 inch pipe. But will the grate freeze up with snow and ice ? Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated

 

[Redlands Okie]

Not really what your asking but ......... Will a shallow gentle slope ditch heading of to the right and then maybe a bit down hill not work as well? Easy to mow and no maintence or freezing up issues perhaps. No leaves clogging it up etc. Would think the grass would grow back come spring just fine.

 

[CalG]

Had my driveway paved recently and as the photo shows, water collects at the base of my lawn and then flows down the left side of the driveway and creates a sheet of ice when it gets cold. I'm going to dig a trench from left to right and then down the embankment. Would a french drain work ? Only issue is I won't be able to dig below the frost line and I'll probably need to put put 4 inch riprap on top of the french drain. Other option is a 4 ft long channel drain with grate with 3 inch pipe. But will the grate freeze up with snow and ice ? Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciatedView attachment 496210View attachment 496211

Any arrangement that has water stay at the surface will ice up over night. I've got a few similar situations around my yard and drives.

But you might be surprised at just how shallow "frost line" can be.

 

[NE Snowblower]

You can't tell from the picture, but as you go left to right, it slopes upwards.

 

[joeyd]

How about something like this? 24 in. Plastic Storm Water Leaching System-FWAS24 - The Home Depot

 

[s219]

If it was me, I'd dig under the turf about 12-16", flip it back away from the edge, then dig a swale/ditch right at that edge (do whatever you have to do to make it flow downhill even with that slight uphill left to right in your photos). Then fill the swale with gravel to bring it back to approximate level, put down 2" of sandy/loamy soil, and then flip the turf back down. The goal is to make it look exactly the same as it looks now but create porous drainage below so that the water doesn't collect.

Whatever you do, be careful that water doesn't get under the asphalt, as that will cause it to weaken and crack over time. Your solution, whatever it is, needs to direct water away from that area. Having water collect in a corner of asphalt like that is a sure source of problems in the long term.

 

[skyhook]

Looks like there's a pothole there where the water collects. Have you tried filling it with dirt to level, with the rest of the grass.

 

[NE Snowblower]

Looks like there's a pothole there where the water collects. Have you tried filling it with dirt to level, with the rest of the grass.

No pot hole there. Compact rocky soil. Just looks that way from the pavers peeling back the turf when creating the driveway edge. That's a new section of driveway that I had them put in. It was part of the banking that you see to the right that has the tree mulch. That area would always be wet since the yard itself slopes to the left towards the driveway

 

[coldsteelva]

I'm thinking the best bet would be to trench along the perimeter of the paving on that side, fill with gravel, and leave the gravel exposed. If that doesn't suffice to eliminate the surface water, then you will likely have to install a french drain with proper pitch to the embankment. You have to get the surface (grass or gravel) below the level of the asphalt or you will have either the sheet of ice or frost heave will crack that blacktop.

 

[EddieWalker]

French drains are famous for failing. There is a limit to how much water they can hold, they clog up over time, and they are expensive to install. The best way to move water is through a wide ditch. The wider you make it, the easier it is to mow, and the more attractive it is. Once done, you never have to deal with it again, the hard part is dealing with all the dirt that has to be removed. Once you get past that part of it, the rest is easy.