Topic: First time allotment holder - drainage problems.

[mcl30]

We received our first allotment in august last year. Throughout the winter we noticed slight flooding at the bottom of our plot. It didnt seems to be much of an issue as it was contained in a shallow ditch. Over the last few days we have had some incredible rain and the flooding has been epic.

I have looked into things to improve drainage. Behind our plot is a railway line and the plot slopes down toward the flooding area. From the other end of the plot there is a very slight slope down to the bottom. So rainwater seems to come from both sides. Laying drainage pipe wont help at all.

Can anyone offer any other suggestions? My father-in-law has suggested digging a new deep trench and filling with gravel. I understand that this flood was a rare occurence but I think it wise to act now to help reduce future flooding or winter flooding.

[johhnyco15]

firstly welcome to a4a hope you enjoy it as much as i have  a trench /gravel idea sounds  a good idea is there any way you could put a pipe to the railway track to disperse the water from the bottom of the trench they make a poly pipe with holes in it to disperse the water gradual  hope this helps and again welcome

[ancellsfarmer]

Is it draining towards or from the railway? I would think Railtrack would be interested in either  preventing somekind of subsidence or catching up on "forgotten" maintenance of a culvert or similar

[Bill Door]

I agree with ancellsfarmer.  However, if you are concerned about the approach I would suggest speak to the allotments owner and see whether they wish to approach railtrack first.

After all I don't think that you should be expending energy on something that someone else should sort out.  Best of luck and keep us posted on the results.

Bill

[mcl30]

The plot slopes down from the railway line. The information about the railway was really to help understand that running pipe isn't a viable option. From the area where the water builds up its is up a slope to the railway line and in the opposite direction is a slight upward slope. Sorry that seems really vague. The other plot holders have a "thats life" approach and the allotment owner wasnt any better.

I was just hoping for some advice to move forward as this is our first plot and I am not sure what will double my work, or if anything really will work.

[ancellsfarmer]

It is difficult to create a mental picture of your situation, do I take it as a ditch which overflows after rainfall, or a puddle/pond that appears/dissapears days after rain?

If the former, head downstream and check out obstructions.Do this in survey mode, go empty handed but a camera may help.
If the latter, I suspect that you may have a springline, ie two differing ground conditions and artesian water is emerging as a result of the watertable being at /above the surface. sometimes this occurs several weeks after a period of rainfall due to the rate at which groundwater percolates If it hits a non porous,or heavily saturated layer, it finds a route sideways
Probably the best approach, since drainage in either case would be problematic as it affects beyond your domain, is to proceed with raising beds, planting mindfull of the situation and possibly seeking early transfer to higher ground if a better plot becomes available.It is not unheard of for allotment secretaries to  test the resolve of "newbies", with the "lemon" plot first. Remember it was available, until you took it!!!

[ed dibbles]

Welcome to A4A from me too.

Good advice from ancellsfarmer. You could also perhaps use the wet area to your advantage growing crops that like a lot of water, possibly with the help of raised beds.

Celery, cauliflower, leafy greens - spinach, lettuce, salad greens, chinese greens, squash, all these like water.

I'm sure you will find the solution with perseverance.