Hydraway Systems Versus French Drain Systems

Traditional French drain systems were the gold standard for drainage for more than 150 years. Although some say they were invented in France, the name comes from Henry Flagg French, who popularized the design in the mid-1800s in the United States.

In its most basic form, a French drain is simply a gravel-filled trench that directs water more effectively than just letting it flow naturally across the ground. Eventually, the design evolved to include a perforated pipe in the center of the gravel. With perforated pipes, the water would flow into the trench, enter the pipe and flow unimpeded through to the end of the trench.

At the time, perforated pipes were a better alternative than empty French drain trenches, until Hydraway came on the scene. Hydraway effectively provides a significantly better in-flow rate than perforated pipes, and has a filter fabric that resists clogging. Hydraway is a flat drain system that is easily placed vertically into a  narrow, relatively shallow trench. Next, the trench is filled with coarse, clean sand, and the drainage system is complete. Gravel is no longer necessary!

Instead of holes in perforated pipe systems that allow in all varieties of dirt, gravel, and other contaminants over time, Hydraway’s core is thermally bonded to needle-punctured filter fabric that allows for high water in-flow rates while resisting clogging from surrounding contaminants. In other words, where sand would quickly enter a traditional perforated pipe in a French drain system, which thus requires gravel, Hydraway can block sand granules.

Subsurface Drainage Solution

In today’s age, with worse storms and floods than before, it is important to adopt advanced drainage technology solutions that outperform French drains and perforated pipes, and any other solutions available in the drainage market. No matter how you look at it, it’s easy to see how a drainage system that functions more effectively, is easier to install and lasts longer will be a better investment than a system that became popular in the mid-19th century. Hydraway has a zero-percent failure rate when properly installed, meaning that drainage problems and excess water will be a thing of the past.

Hydraway has been chosen and installed in homes, civil construction projects, professional and amateur athletic facilities, and public infrastructure projects across the United States and worldwide. Our network of distributors can get Hydraway to any worksite quickly and efficiently. No matter where your project is located or what it entails, Hydraway ships easily and is simple to install. Once shipped on coils, it is laid flat, making installation far more manageable than a traditional French drain.