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How French Drains Work
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In February of 2017, one of the largest spillways in the world, the one at Oroville Dam in northern California, was severely damaged during releases from heavy rain. You might remember this. I made a video about it, and then ano
Well before we worried about draining subsurface water to protect buildings and structures, farmers were doing it in one way or another to keep their fields from sogginess that affects the growth of crops and bogs down agricultural equipment. “Providence has so liberally supplied the greater part of New England with stones, that it seems to the most inexperienced person to be a work of supererogation, almost, to manufacture tiles or any other draining material for our farms.” But getting it out quickly, with a drain, gives it less opportunity to apply pressure to basement walls, freeze against a structure creating long-term movement, swell the soils, or cause rot and corrosion.
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