Over the past couple of weeks, many communities in northern New Jersey have been faced with heavy rains and have subsequently experienced heavy flooding. 
As a result, many Bergen County homeowners have suffered damage to their homes and properties due to high water tables and surface flooding from groundwater runoff. When searching for a solution, many homeowners believe their only option is to install a costly basement French drain and sump pump system. If the water table surrounding the home is high and flooding occurs from the water table rising during heavy storms then this method, while extremely expensive, may be a viable solution. If flooding occurs for any other reason, however, then such a strategy is not getting to the root of your problem. The real solution in flood management: exterior drainage systems and positive grading, which will control excess water from reaching the walls of your home’s foundation.
There are several types of exterior drainage systems and all of them are significantly less expensive than interior drains. The most important step to fixing any drainage issues is to make sure that the grading, meaning the level or slope of the land, around your home is pitched away from the foundation by simply installing raised foundation planting beds or grading the lawn areas to allow surface runoff to go away from your home. In many cases the surface runoff is coming from a neighboring property. A solution to catching this surface and sub-surface water is to catch it with either surface or French drains on the outskirts of your property. These drains then are connected to pipes that direct the water to either other lower areas of the property that are lower than your home or to a dry well. Dry wells are underground chambers that hold collected runoff water, and then slowly release it into the underground water table.
Contact your landscape designer or contractor to determine the type, size and location of the drainage system and to ensure its effectiveness. With a little creative thought and planning, an economical and environmentally sound solution to your drainage problems is within reach.