French Drains vs Swales, which works best in Florida

French drain or swale, which type of drainage system works best in Florida? Every one knows about sandy soils in Florida, but people don’t realize that thick clay layered soils are often just below the surface. French drains have limitations. They are designed to allow water to enter the pipe thru perforations (holes or cuts) in the pipe. This limits the amount of water that can enter and will allow water seeking roots (especially Palm Tree roots and even grass roots) to enter the pipe. Roots can easily wrap around inside and block water flow. Southern Drainage Systems now uses a special fabric, designed to prevent roots from entering the perforated drainage pipe. This allows the drainage system to work for decades, free of roots. When the French drain pipe is set accurately using special commercial grade fabric to filter sand and prevent roots from entering the pipe along with a laser to verify proper pipe elevations, the system can work flawlessly for decades. Southern Drainage Systems has installed many hundreds of residential drainage systems over the past 2 decades. To our knowledge, all are still properly functioning to this day.

French drain benefits:

1. French drains can be installed in a confined area or space.

2. French drains can blend into the landscape if necessary.

3. French drains can be installed against or along a building.

4. French drain can be installed deep in the ground.

Swales can have advantages over French drains. Swales are often a wide shallow groove or trench cut into the ground to capture and guide water to a location where it is released and can flow with out concern. Swales can carry massive amounts of water but there is the potential for erosion along the sides or base depending on water velocity. Swales can work well in residential and commercial applications with sufficient area. A minimum swale width is often 6 ft. wide. Over time sediment carried in the water can slowly fill in the swale and it will need to be excavated and removed.

Swale benefits:

1. Swales can carry massive amounts of water.

2.  Swales have no pipe or basins.

3. Swales can be shallow and hidden in a landscape but they do require more area in width than a French drain

Both types of drainage systems can be very effective in Florida’s clay or sandy soils. We will discuss Catch Basin Drainage Systems in the next blog post.