I have a big problem with drainage. When I bought my house not too long ago, a new septic system was put in. the lady that owned the house had her sump pump going directly into the septic system. The washing machine drains into the sump well as well. So, one day, I disconnected the sump pump from the septic system and ran a new PVC line so it could drain away from the house. However, now I have lots of standing water. I thought it would be absorbed into the ground, but it didn't.

I dug a hole in that area to see what the soil consisted of. To my dismay, the entire area is hard clay. I have no idea how deep it goes.

I would really like to rent a ditch witch and run 2' deep french drains using stone and 4" perforated drainage tubing. I want to run about 200 feet of it (I have 1.5 acres of gently sloping land), but I am afraid that it will eventually fill to capacity due to the lack of my soil's absorptive abilities. Obviously, this would be a big problem in the winter time, especially if any part of the french drain system freezes.

Have any of you had a problem like this? How was it rectified? Anyone have any suggestions?