how to fix water pooling in yard

Where does the ditch drain to? If it doesn't drain then all you have is a moat and they may as well put in a draw bridge. The water has to drain away from the house and not pond up in the yard. I had a area in my yard that held water and I put in a French Drain that ran across the yard about 30 yards to the ditch along the road. Did that 4 years ago and haven't had a issue sense.

The ditch drains to...no where.

Sorry about the double post, didnt mean to.

So my solution is to have them level the backyard again by getting rid of the moat/swale, then just building up the sides of the house where the original problem was and put a french drain in on both sides of the house leading out to the street?

That would be the best solution i think. You can also put a french drain from the down spouts and connect it to the french drain going to the street. My need to look into regulation's in your area and see what they allow with water run off.

I think my downspouts actually are part of the problem of the pooling water on the side of the house too =/

The builder probably broke some kind of county code or something by building this swale/ditch in my backyard. Maybe I should call the county and ask

I think my downspouts actually are part of the problem of the pooling water on the side of the house too =/

The builder probably broke some kind of county code or something by building this swale/ditch in my backyard. Maybe I should call the county and ask

Yes, and they'll probably tell you that you can't run a french drain to the street.

You need to find someone who can do a good water mitigation plan for you.

You can do some sort of drain tiles, but they would probably need to be ran to some buried NDS catch basins in the yard.

Most of your problem comes from the hardpan about 12" or better under the surface. Getting through that hardpan is the key either with catch basins, or even taking a post hole digger and drilling holes in the lawn and filling them with sand or pea gravel.

http://www.ndspro.com/

http://www.ndspro.com/drainage-systems/dry-wells/flo-well-dry-well

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Yes, and they'll probably tell you that you can't run a french drain to the street.

You need to find someone who can do a good water mitigation plan for you.

You can do some sort of drain tiles, but they would probably need to be ran to some buried NDS catch basins in the yard.

Most of your problem comes from the hardpan about 12" or better under the surface. Getting through that hardpan is the key either with catch basins, or even taking a post hole digger and drilling holes in the lawn and filling them with sand or pea gravel.

http://www.ndspro.com/

http://www.ndspro.com/drainage-systems/dry-wells/flo-well-dry-well

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Really something as simple as digging holes with a post hole digger in the low spots and filling the holes 1/2 gravel or sand and 1/2 topsoil could fix my problems?

I want to keep costs to 0 because this is a warranty issue, but if I try to make them do something expensive they're going to try to say no, and I'd rather not go to court and everything...but if I have to I will, maybe...

They did THIS as their 1st attempt which seems like the cheapest option they could have done.

Below is a picture of the standing water approx 36 hours after rain stopped. This is BEFORE they tore up my yard yesterday.

Really something as simple as digging holes with a post hole digger in the low spots and filling the holes 1/2 gravel or sand and 1/2 topsoil could fix my problems?

I want to keep costs to 0 because this is a warranty issue, but if I try to make them do something expensive they're going to try to say no, and I'd rather not go to court and everything...but if I have to I will, maybe...

When new houses and sub divisions are built, the machines used to grade and strip the area create a hard pan.

Not to mention the 20+ contractors that use the lot as a parking space when the house is being built.

On the farm, we used to dig deep post holes in wet spots to help the water drain. It works for about 5-10 years before needing done again.

In a residential setting, it might be a semi-permanent fix. Especially if you fill the holes with a porous material to aid in draining.

And, judging by the pics, everyone's yards around you drain into your yard. There is laws against this.

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This last picture is right on the property line between my neighbor and myself.
My yard and house are on the right side. (You can see the property line where the 2 fence types change.)

My house actually sits higher than his house.

Compare the 1st picture right side, and the picture I just put on recently right side.