When It Rains in the Desert, It Pours

This weekend, the Valley got a reminder

If you've been on social media or watched the news this Halloween weekend, you've seen it. Back-to-back storms rolled through the Valley Friday night into Saturday, and parts of north Phoenix and Scottsdale got more than an inch of rain in under an hour (AZFamily).

Firefighters pulled people out of cars stuck in a wash near 40th Street and Camelback. Roads closed in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Apache Junction. The National Weather Service reported 1 to 3 inches of rain in some spots, and Indian Bend Wash ran above alarm stage overnight.

And it isn't over. Forecasters expect another round Saturday night, with flooding concerns rising through Sunday. Our phones have been ringing all weekend, and our crews are working to take care of neighbors as fast as we can.

We don't get much rain. That's exactly the problem.

Phoenix averages only around 7 inches of rain a year. So most yards are built for dry weather, and nobody thinks about water until it's standing in the backyard.

The trouble is how our rain arrives. It doesn't fall gently over a week. It dumps an inch in an hour on ground that can't take it in:

• Caliche and hard-packed soil shed water instead of absorbing it, so it runs straight toward your house, your walls or your neighbor's lot.
• Paved and turfed yards leave water fewer places to go. Every square foot of patio is a square foot that sends runoff somewhere else.
• Block walls and slabs act like dams. Water pools against them, soaks the footing and finds the lowest point, which is often your foundation or a doorway.
• Pavers settle when water washes out the base underneath them. That dip you notice in December often started in a storm like this one.

One bad storm can undo years of good landscaping.

What a professionally designed drainage system does

A real drainage plan does one job: it decides where the water goes before the storm decides for you. That starts with walking your property and seeing how water actually moves across it.

Depending on your yard, that can include:

• Grading that slopes the ground away from your house and walls.
• Channel drains across patios and driveways to catch sheet flow before it reaches a door.
• French drains that move water underground to a safe outlet.
• Downspout extensions and buried lines so roof runoff doesn't dump next to the foundation.
• Dry creek beds and rock swales that carry water through the yard and look good doing it.
• Proper base under pavers so storm water drains through instead of washing the base out.

The right mix depends on your lot, your soil and where the water has to end up. That's why we design it on-site, not off a template.

Better to have it and not need it

Most years, your drainage will sit quietly underground doing nothing. Then a weekend like this one comes along, and it's the only thing standing between rainwater and your house. It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

After this storm, walk your yard and look for:

• Water that pooled against the house, a wall or a door
• Pavers that sank, shifted or now hold puddles
• Rock or soil washed onto patios, walkways or the driveway
• Stains, cracks or damp spots along the base of block walls
• Downspouts emptying right next to the foundation
• Erosion channels cut through gravel or planting beds

If you checked even one, your yard is telling you where the water wants to go. It's much cheaper to fix that now than after the next storm.

Let us know how we can serve you

The calls are coming in, and we're working to take care of our neighbors as fast as we can. If this storm left water where it shouldn't be, reach out. We'll walk your property, show you where the water is going, and give you a clear written plan to fix it.

Call us at (602) 780-3050 or get an instant estimate. We Do Hardscape is licensed, bonded and insured, ROC 354091.

Stay safe this weekend, and remember: turn around, don't drown. Never drive through a flooded road or wash.