Kennesaw Horse Farm Perimeter Drainage Repair
Kennesaw, Georgia | Corrective Drainage & Site Restoration
Restoring a sediment-clogged perimeter drainage system while protecting and rebuilding the stabilized access surfaces it crossed.
The Project
This horse farm’s perimeter drainage system was originally constructed to intercept runoff from the large hillside above the arena and parking area before it could enter the developed portion of the property. From a central high point, the system divided the captured runoff in two directions—one toward the farm pond and the other toward a large culvert beneath the main customer-access drive.
During the original site development, J Wells Precision Grading recommended erosion-control protection for the newly disturbed slope. The property owner, an experienced general contractor, elected to handle that portion of the work independently to control project costs. Before the slope became sufficiently stabilized, sediment-laden runoff entered the perimeter drainage system and eventually packed portions of the riprap almost completely with silt.
J Wells later returned to restore the drainage system, recover the usable stone and reestablish its ability to intercept and safely redirect hillside runoff before it reached the arena and parking areas.
The Work
Restoration began by excavating the clogged portions of the perimeter drain and separating the sediment-packed riprap. Rather than treating the existing stone as waste, usable material was recovered, cleaned and repurposed elsewhere on the property. The drainage channel was then reestablished to its intended profile and rebuilt with geotextile fabric and riprap to restore positive conveyance around the developed site.
Part of the repair passed directly through an established aggregate access drive. Because the property's difficult soils had required geotextile stabilization beneath the access surfaces during the original construction, J Wells carefully removed the crusher-run surface, exposed and selectively cut the existing fabric, and excavated the drainage system beneath it. During reconstruction, the stabilization fabric was repaired and integrated with the new work using appropriate overlap before the aggregate base and finished access grade were restored.
At the parking-area corner, the rebuilt drainage section was wrapped with geotextile and covered with gravel aggregate, allowing the surface to remain usable for vehicle access while continuing to receive and convey runoff. With the hillside now substantially stabilized, the restored system once again provides a controlled path for uphill runoff while helping protect the arena, parking area and farm access below.
