Expert: Ronald B Persaud - 9/27/2009

Question
Hello.  I had my backyard landscaped and had sod put in, almost two months ago.  Since the first week, the sod stays so wet that it's mucky.  I haven't watered it often, only 5 minutes twice a week.  It's staying nice and green, but it's so wet, that we can't even use it!  I don't know what to do. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Answer
5 minutes of irrigation twice a week is very unlikely to cause the water logging like you describe. The backyard was landscaped; therefore it must have been dry at the time. The sod installers must have watered in the sod. If they used the sprinkler system to do so, they must have turned it off.
Water simply has to be coming from somewhere. Check for a leak in all the water supply systems -the house, sprinkler or any other in use. If there are no leaks, then the water must be coming from a natural spring or something like that located on your property. If not, then the water is coming from a source located off your property.
And now, I have no more clues.