Superior Water & Air is a Utah plumbing, water, and HVAC provider servicing customers in the Salt Lake City area as well as Washington County. They often get calls about drain and sewer problems. Surprisingly, they say some of these problems are directly related to residential landscaping. Who knew?
It makes sense when you think about it. Residential landscaping and underground plumbing occupy the same spaces. There is bound to be conflict at some point. Considering my home leads me to wonder how many property owners have problems that they don’t know about right under their feet. Maybe I am one of them.
Tree Roots Are the Big Thing
The experts at Superior say that tree roots are the most significant threat to exterior drains and sewer lines. They can also affect incoming waterlines. Here is the thing: tree roots grow toward sources of moisture. So a pipe with even a small leak is an open invitation to trees and shrubs.
If roots make their way inside pipes, all hell can break loose. Tree roots are responsible for plenty of drain blockages. They create new leaks and put pipes in danger of total collapse. Older clay and concrete lines are especially susceptible to tree roots.
All of this sends a clear message to property owners: new trees should be planted nowhere near sewer or waterlines. Keep trees and shrubs as far away as possible. It is also a good idea to select trees and shrubs with the least aggressive root systems.
Soil Erosion Is Another Problem
Another landscaping-related plumbing problem is soil erosion. In such cases though, the problem isn’t landscaping itself. It is a lack thereof. Insufficient landscaping allows erosion to occur at a much faster pace. The result could be exposed pipes that are then subject to damage.
Hand-in-hand with a lack of landscaping are heavy rain and poor drainage. Both exacerbate soil erosion. When soil erodes enough to expose pipes, trouble is waiting to happen.
Lawn equipment easily damages exhaust pipes. They can also be damaged by foot traffic and natural shifts in the ground. To avoid these problems, property owners should focus on proper grating and installing new landscaping elements that will keep soil intact.
Poor Drainage and Foundations
Poor drainage can lead to water pooling on a homeowner’s property. In and of itself, water pooling isn’t necessarily a major disaster. But if it pools close to the home, it could be a harbinger of more serious problems to come.
Poor drainage systems incapable of pulling water away from a home could ultimately lead to a breached foundation. The foundation could begin to shift and break, perhaps creating additional plumbing problems inside the home.
The truth is that drainage isn’t just an aesthetic issue. Proper drainage is necessary to protect a home and its mechanics. And if a property isn’t properly graded and landscaped, drainage problems developing may be just a matter of time.
Potential Hardscaping Issues
Finally are hardscaping issues. Hardscaping is the practice of installing hard surfaces – like concrete patios, retaining walls, and blacktop driveways. Installations can compact the ground excessively, damaging both incoming water lines and sewer lines. Older and more brittle lines are more subject to damage from compacting than newer lines.
A variety of issues can cause exterior plumbing issues. But it turns out that landscaping is often a major contributor – if not the outright culprit. How we landscape our properties impacts how plumbing lines interact with the soil they are buried in. That’s why it is so important to get landscaping right on new builds.
