Site Work and Land Services in Macungie, PA

Macungie, PA Success Story

Residential Grading, Retaining Wall and Drainage Improvement

A homeowner in Macungie — a Lehigh County borough in Lower Macungie Township, a rapidly growing community at the western edge of the Lehigh Valley between Allentown and Emmaus — engaged J&J Services to address a sloped rear yard that was directing stormwater runoff toward the home’s foundation and creating a wet, unusable yard condition. The homeowner also wanted to reclaim usable flat space from the rear slope.

Challenges
Lower Macungie Township’s residential development boom has produced a significant number of homes with rear yards that were graded during subdivision development to drain lot-to-lot without fully considering how runoff from upslope lots would accumulate. The Macungie homeowner’s rear yard was receiving runoff from two adjacent upslope properties in addition to its own roof drainage — a combined volume that overwhelmed the natural drainage capacity of the rear yard soils during significant rain events. The resulting foundation moisture concern was real, and the soggy rear yard was consistently soft and unusable for the majority of the growing season.

Solution
J&J Services designed a three-component solution: a grading correction that re-directed surface flow from the foundation toward the rear of the lot, a low manufactured stone retaining wall across the rear yard slope that created a level usable terrace immediately behind the home, and a perimeter interceptor swale along the upslope property lines to capture and redirect the neighbor runoff before it could reach the yard. The swale outlet was routed to the rear yard’s natural low point at the property edge where it could discharge without affecting the yard or foundation.

Results
The foundation moisture problem was resolved in the first rain events following project completion. The terraced rear yard provided a functional flat outdoor space the homeowners had not previously had, and the interceptor swale effectively managed the neighbor runoff that had been the primary driver of the yard’s wet conditions.

“Our backyard was a swamp every spring and the foundation was getting wet. J&J figured out where the water was coming from, intercepted it before it got to our yard, and terraced the slope so we actually have usable space back there now. Problem solved completely.”
— Homeowner, Macungie, PA