Arena drainage solutions?

[penny.rose17]

This is our first summer with our arena, and we’ve been getting a lot of rain this week. We’ve noticed that one end of the arena holds water like a lake compared to the rest. Our arena is sloped to drain in that direction, but it doesn’t seem to drain as much as it just holds the water. It usually drains after a day or two if we don’t get any more rain.

Is that much water in the arena normal? We have boards around the arena, and I was wondering if we should maybe drill holes in the boards on that side. I’m not sure if that’s possible without losing sand. We have a coquina base that drains well, but unfortunately, that’s the lowest point on the property, and the swales are right next to it.

Before we put the boards up, it didn’t do this—it drained really well, almost too well, because we were losing a lot of sand and even some of the base. So now it feels like it’s one or the other, and I’m not sure if the solution might be drilling holes or digging a trench or something. If anyone has had a similar situation and has a possible solution, I’d really appreciate it!

[JB]

No, this isn’t normal, and over time will damage your base

I put french drain pipes around the low end of my ring, with a sleeve on top. This allows water to run through and away, but not footing. If you just drill holes in the wood border, footing will also go through

[penny.rose17]

Okay, thank you! Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about. This is the first flooding we’ve had since our arena was done and I hope it hasn’t already caused damage to the base. How did you do your French drain? We have wood boards all around the arena that are into the base.

[JB]

We honestly just laid the pipes with sleeves around the edge around the outside of the fence. At this point I don’t know how you might allow drainage without losing footing but I’m sure there’s a solution that someone else will have come up with

[penny.rose17]

Thank you!

[LilRanger]

You could probably lay the drain at the bottom of the board, but do you have somewhere for the water to go? You’ll have to take the drain out past the scale, it looks like.

[clanter]

@LilRanger

but do you have somewhere for the water to go?

if needed dry wells could be drilled, back fill with stone then run the water from the arena into the dry wells

AI defines a dry well as

an underground structure used to manage excess surface water, such as stormwater runoff from roofs or yards, by collecting and gradually dispersing it into the surrounding soil. Essentially, it’s a pit filled with gravel or other porous material that acts as a temporary holding area for water, allowing it to seep into the ground over time.

[Christa_P]

You could drill holes, then line the inside of the board with landscape fabric to hold the footing.

[enjoytheride]

Remove the boards, drill circle holes in them. Wrap them in landscaping fabric, put them back.

You can certainly have a company out to improve the drainage, depending on how much money you want to spend. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you invest in drainage, an arena will flood in heavy rain.