October 17, 2022 Grays Harbor Cliff Challenge

We do have a few tricks up our sleeve here at FTS Excavation. This particular drainage job out in Grays Harbor, which is normally out of our service area, was one problem to solve after another. Good thing we love the rush we get from super-challenging jobs. First off the house was on a cliff. Over the years, water had eroded more and more of the backyard, threatening the owner's second home. It was located off the coast in an exceptionally rainy part of Washington State. Sometimes the rains would come down in sheets- for hours. The gutter system couldn't handle the volume of water and it would overflow. So the owners installed bigger gutters and more downspouts. The problem was that there was nowhere for all this water to go. So they called us. After evaluating the situation, we suggested installing larger underground drainage pipes and running them out to the ditch on the street. This was already a bit of a trick due to the narrow access and trees to go around. But we were able to properly install it with enough fall needed. One more problem... The entity regulating the ditch said the owners couldn't empty the drainage pipe into it. So what were the owners to do? Red tape was preventing them from saving their home from landslide. We had another suggestion. Why don't we install a dry well right next to the ditch? The plan was that the water would enter into the dry well, then overflow it, bubble up and out and naturally drain from their property into the ditch. Problem solved! No regulations were violated. Rainwater was diverted away from the cliff and hopefully the home will stand for many decades to come.

If you have a challenging drainage problem, contact FTS Excavation for a free estimate. We are not engineers and cannot guarantee any design results that are not engineered. Permits are sometimes required by local government agencies. We can only make recommendations and would be happy to assess your project.