Interesting points, but I'm not totally sold on swales yet. I've seen a neighbor try something similar—French drain into a swale—and after heavy rains, it turned into a mini pond for days. Maybe it depends heavily on soil type or slope? Curious if anyone else had issues with standing water... I'd probably test a small area first before committing to the whole yard.
"Maybe it depends heavily on soil type or slope? Curious if anyone else had issues with standing water..."
Yeah, soil type and slope definitely play a huge role. A client of mine had heavy clay soil, and their swale turned into a mosquito paradise after every storm. We ended up mixing in sand and compost to improve drainage, plus tweaking the slope slightly. It wasn't perfect overnight, but after a few adjustments, the standing water issue pretty much disappeared. Testing a small area first sounds like a smart move—better safe than sorry with these things...
