What are Dry Wells?

A dry well is an effective way to return water into the soil without it pooling on the surface. A dry well is simply a hole in the ground that is filled with gravel or another porous material that can hold water while it soaks into the ground. If you want to increase the capacity of your dry well, you can use special dry well barrels. A dry well barrel is a large plastic bucket that is buried underground and has holes in the bottom and sides for drainage. The barrel must be buried surrounded by gravel or another porous material. As water drains from your garden, it collected in the barrel, which holds the water as it slowly disperses into the ground.

Connecting a drywell to drainage

A dry well can be connected to another type of drainage. As we mentioned above, a dry well can help drain a rain garden. In this cases, two methods of slow drainage combine to hold rainwater and give it time to soak into the earth instead of flooding your yard.

Using a French Drain with a dry well

A dry well can also be combined with a french drain. In all of these setups, the goal is to avoid flooding, which occurs when rain accumulates faster than it can be absorbed by the ground. A french drain, dry well, or rain garden collects water and gives it a chance to slowly return to the earth.