Carbon Gold’s Sue Rawlings offers top tips for banishing the water for good.

 

Many homeowners of new-build properties find themselves dealing with frustrating waterlogging issues. Despite idyllic promotional images of lush, thriving gardens, the reality often involves lawns submerged after rainfall, compromised plant growth, and persistent drainage challenges. This issue arises predominantly from housing developments built on historically absorbent floodplains, compounded by excessive use of large machinery as well as impermeable materials like concrete alongside poor landscaping practices. Despite widespread awareness of this problem, many developers are still to implement the necessary solutions, continuing practices that compromise not only garden aesthetics, but also the broader environmental resilience of developments.

The Root of the Problem: Soil Compaction

During both new build construction and renovations, heavy machinery compacts the soil, significantly reducing its natural capacity to absorb and drain water. Traditional solutions, such as French drains, typically redirect water but fail to address the underlying cause: compacted soil. This oversight leaves gardens prone to repeated waterlogging, frustrating homeowners and damaging plant health.

Sue Rawlings, a sustainability expert at Carbon Gold explains, “Compaction of soil during construction is a major contributor to poor drainage. Instead of resorting to traditional, and more expensive methods like French drains, developers should focus on properly de-compacting soil to restore natural permeability.”

A Proven and Sustainable Solution: The VOGT Geo Injector

One highly effective method involves the use of advanced air-injection technology, specifically the VOGT Geo Injector, designed explicitly to address compacted soils. By injecting high-pressure air beneath the soil surface, dense soil layers are fractured, immediately restoring the soil’s natural permeability. Following this, the injection of enriched biochar—a carbon-rich, porous form of charcoal made from organic matter—creates lasting soil improvements.

“Once aeration is improved, the treated areas can be backfilled with a specialist enriched biochar mix,” Rawlings says. “This enhances soil structure and significantly increases the soil’s ability to retain nutrients and moisture beneficially.”

 

The Benefits of Biochar in Landscaping and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG):

• Enhanced Drainage: Biochar’s porous structure significantly improves water infiltration, preventing water accumulation on lawns and gardens.
• Improved Soil Health: Biochar increases soil aeration, encourages beneficial microbial activity, and enhances nutrient retention.
• Long-term Stability: Unlike other amendments, biochar is highly stable, ensuring permanent soil quality enhancement.
• Environmental Responsibility: Each tonne of biochar used sequesters approximately three tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide, substantially reducing carbon footprints and supporting climate goals.
• Biodiversity Enhancement: By significantly improving soil health and structure, biochar creates an environment conducive to increased plant and microbial diversity. This aligns directly with Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) objectives, mandated in UK planning legislation to increase natural habitats and ecological value in new developments.

This combined solution has already proven highly effective in urban landscaping scenarios. For instance, councils using the VOGT Geo Injector coupled with biochar have seen notable revitalisation of historic trees and public green spaces, resulting in visibly healthier plants, improved biodiversity, and significantly reduced waterlogging.

It is imperative for property developers to integrate these environmentally conscious landscaping practices into their projects. Rawlings emphasises, “The technology and sustainable practices are available, proven, and effective. It’s time developers embraced these innovative solutions, safeguarding properties, homeowners, biodiversity, and our environment for the future.”