When you’re looking out over a clearly waterlogged lawn, you might wish you had a device to just suck up all the water, to save your grass. Sure, you can take a shop vacuum that is meant for water to the puddle and draw up the water. But you’ll still find the lawn is oversaturated with water. Instead of looking for temporary solutions, you should try to invest in long-term solutions that will keep your lawn from becoming water-logged in the first place. There are three general strategies: improve drainage, prevent over-watering, or work with the wet lawn. We’ll detail each below.

1. Improve Drainage for the Long-Term

Mostly, your lawn needs to drain water faster. This is especially true if the lawn is mostly flat and still isn’t draining well across the whole lawn. There are a few ways that you can help the lawn drain faster:

  • Organic matter: Clay-like soils with not enough organic matter have trouble accepting water and allowing it to drain to deeper levels of soil. It takes work and disturbs the grass, but adding large amounts of organic matter can help.
  • Aeration: Thatch, a build-up of dead grass blades, can prevent water from reaching the soil. Aeration is a solution for thatch, pulling chunks of it up and leaving room for grass growth and water drainage.
  • Fix bald spots: Grass roots can absorb water faster than bare soil. Repair bald spots by seeding new grass and the area will absorb more water.
  • Re-grade the lawn: Is a serious slope driving all of the water to a certain spot? Sometimes re-grading a lawn is worthwhile to correct these problems. Or, your sprinkler technician may be able to adjust the system to compensate for slope issues.

Not sure which is best for your lawn? Reach out to landscaping professionals who can assess the current quality of your lawn and soil and advise you as to which will have the biggest impact on improving your drainage.

2. Prevent Over-Watering

When your lawn gets too much water, it makes sense that it would have trouble absorbing it. Here are some ways to prevent over-watering:

  • Smart sprinkler systems: Smart systems can sense rain and stop watering automatically. They also shut off without your input, so you never let them run too long.
  • Proper system design: Having a professionally designed and installed sprinkler system will help keep water distribution even and prevent waterlogged lawns.
  • Move your downspouts: Rainwater sent onto the law from the roof can drown it. If your downspouts are a problem, they can be redirected.

3. Work with the Wet Lawn

What if you’d rather just work with the lawn’s natural waterlogged spots? There are some options you can consider:

  • Creek bed: Add a faux creek bed where your lawn stays wet. Use river rocks and shape the section like a rive.
  • Mini-marsh: Tear up the lawn and plant water-loving plants in the spot.

It’s wise to get a professional’s opinion before you start with any of these solutions to drain your waterlogged lawn.