Adventures in Dry Wells on a Shoestring Budget... Part 1.

Picking location: 

I always was intrigued by dry wells as a way to retain water during wet periods and allow greater stability in the moisture content of the grounds. For people in Texas, the ground is either over soaked as the thunder showers can come at anytime of the year, or with over 100 degree days, the ground can start drying and cracking after these showers in days. 

This is not good for the structures we affectionately call homes as the ground is either contracting or expanding with the water content. This problem is compounded by the high clay content in the soils that expand and contract with the water saturation.

Thus my new house in Houston, TX has water pooling near the foundations with high levels water saturation. The first picture below was my first attempt at digging a dry well near the fence to draw the water toward the run off areas. Just to the left of the fence is a wetland for water retention and the grade is downward from there. 

I was like this hole should not have any utility lines. After seeing an ad that said to call first before digging, they came out and confirmed that that hole and following the fence was exactly where the gas and cable ditches  were. Ooops. 

I still wanted to have my first dry well near the fence so the outline of the final location is right near the fence below. 

I had been thinking about what to use as my drywells but also did not want to spend a lot. Then one day, I saw two of these traffic cones like out in the middle of a wooded field. I was like that is perfect as even beat up and cracked would be just as good as a fancy one. Below you see most of the water holes already drilled without regards to permeability.

I thought about how to apply the screens to the drywell to keep out dirt from filling up the dry well and thus defeating its purpose. It was suggested to use garden fabric as the screen. I just wrapped up my drywell with strips of construction glue and then wrapped the drywell with the garden fabric. That was a dollar or two for that, which was my only expense so far.

Next up: dig well and get materials for the drywell.