When it comes to your lawn, water is essential—but in the wrong place, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

In Cape Coral, when it rains, it isn’t a gentle sprinkle. It’s a downpour that pounds rooftops, floods swales, and collects in low spots. If your yard isn’t graded properly, that water isn’t going anywhere. It sits stagnant, making your yard a muddy mess and allowing mosquitoes to breed.

This isn’t just about a soggy lawn. Poor drainage cracks foundations, weakens driveways, drowns plants, and creates breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Left unchecked at the foundation of your home, standing water turns into structural damage, code violations, and sky-high repair bills.

At Davidson Irrigation & Landscape Lighting, we’ve seen it all, and we know exactly how to fix it.

What’s Wrong With Your Yard’s Drainage?

Think your yard is fine? Think again. Take a walk outside. Are there puddles that don’t disappear? Is there grass that never dries? Are there sections of soil washing away every time it rains? Those aren’t small issues—they’re warning signs.

Here’s why it happens:

1. Your Yard Is Too Flat – Water needs a slope to keep moving until it drains into the street and sewage system. Without a rise that slopes the water away from your house, it stagnates.
2. Compacted Soil – Over time, soil compresses and stops absorbing water.
3. Your House’s Downspouts Are Dumping Water in the Wrong Spot – If gutters push water too close to your home, it soaks into the foundation, which can cause leaks, structural damage, and moisture in your home.
4. Your Yard’s Swales Are Clogged or Ineffective – Swales are shallow ditches designed to move water, but if they fill with debris, they fail. Or if they were ineffectively dug, they don’t ever dry out.

Ignoring these problems doesn’t make them disappear—it makes them worse. Call us right away to fix these issues.

The Right Way to Grade Your Yard

Proper yard grading isn’t guesswork—it’s a job that requires precision.

Your yard should slope away from your home at a minimum of 1 inch per foot for at least 6 to 10 feet. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the difference between a dry property and a waterlogged disaster.

But grading isn’t just about one big slope. It’s about directing water strategically—toward drainage areas, not into your neighbor’s yard. That’s why professionals use a mix of surface grading, swales, and, when necessary, underground drainage solutions like French drains.

At Davidson Irrigation & Landscape Lighting, we don’t eyeball it. We measure, calculate, and make sure water flows exactly where it should—away from your home and away from trouble.

The Swale Factor: Cape Coral’s Built-In Drainage System

If you live in Cape Coral, you’ve seen swales. These shallow ditches between roads and properties are critical for flood prevention. But here’s what most homeowners don’t realize:

Swales don’t take care of themselves. Over time, swales fill with sediment, debris, and overgrown grass. When that happens, rainwater has nowhere to go. The rainwater backs up, spills over, and turns driveways into rivers. The city of Cape Coral has a swale grading program for public areas, but private property is on you. Maintaining a functional swale isn’t optional—it’s essential.

Why French Drains Might Be Your Best Solution

What if your yard sits too low and water collects no matter how you grade it? That’s when a French drain comes in.

It’s simple: a perforated pipe, surrounded by gravel, buried underground. Water finds it, flows in, and moves out. The result? No standing water and no flooded yards—just efficient drainage, done right.

For properties with persistent drainage problems, a French drain is a game-changer. We install them to handle high water loads without ruining your landscape. And let’s face it—Cape Coral gets very heavy downpours during the summer months, so having French drains installed now, during our dry season, makes the most sense.

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

Here’s the bottom line: bad drainage gets worse with time. The longer you wait, the more damage it causes, and the more expensive the repairs become. If your yard isn’t draining properly, now’s the time to act.

Davidson Irrigation & Landscape Lighting specializes in expert grading, drainage solutions, and irrigation maintenance. We don’t guess. We get it right the first time.

Call us today at (239) 275-8569. Fix the problem before it costs you thousands.