Soggy Yard? Meet the Drainage Solution MLB Can't Live Without

Ever wonder why some yards bounce back from heavy rain while others stay muddy for days? The secret lies in drainage technology, and as our conversation with Joe Zellerman of Hydraway reveals, not all drainage systems are created equal.

Did you know the iconic Field of Dreams baseball field—site of MLB's most-watched game ever—relies on Hydraway drainage? When a deluge of three to four inches of rain fell the night before this historic game, groundskeepers were still able to mow the next morning. The system worked so efficiently they needed to add a second pump station just to keep up with the water removal.

Traditional drainage systems use pipes with small slit holes that only offer about 5% open area, easily becoming clogged with sediment while actually holding water rather than moving it. Hydraway's revolutionary cavity design changes the game completely by allowing water to drain through all sides simultaneously. With percolation rates of 18-28 inches per hour per square foot, it's no wonder professional sports venues trust this system for their multimillion-dollar fields.

For homeowners tired of soggy yards and mud puddles that tear up under the lawnmower, Hydraway offers the same professional-grade solution used at the highest levels of sports. Whether you're a passionate lawn enthusiast who puts lines in your grass every weekend or simply want a yard that drains properly after rain, this conversation reveals why moving water—not holding it—is the key to landscape drainage success. Check out our full 30-minute interview to learn even more about how Hydraway transforms golf courses and other challenging drainage environments.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
visually, you know it's hard to see, but once
you've done the testing andyou've researched it, those slit
slot holes can get clogged with, you know, your fines and
sediment and everything elsewhen Hydroway doesn't.
Hydroway is a cavity system.
It's going to allow the waterto drain through all sides.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hey, michael Church, crawl Space Ninja, how much do
you care about your yard?
I live in a neighborhood wherethe folks are out on Saturdays
and Sundays and taking care oftheir grass and making sure
everything looks great, puttingthe lines in the grass and all
that sort of stuff.
But if you have a yard that isnot draining properly, then that
lawnmower is going to tear upyour yard.

(00:37):
You're going to have low spotsthat have a lot of standing
water and mud and make your yardlook nasty.
Water and mud and make youryard look nasty.
So I sat down with Joe Zellermanof Hydroway and he shared with
me that this product is used byMajor League Baseball's number
one viewed baseball game of alltime.
So why did Major LeagueBaseball trust the Field of

(00:58):
Dreams field with this product?
He's going to share with us whythis product is way better than
the other slit slot productsthat you'll find at your local
box stores.
Also, if you stay tuned to theend, we did a full 30-minute
interview about Hydraway, howit's used in golf courses and
other areas as well.
So there will be a link forthat at the end.

(01:19):
Let's get started.
I've heard a lot of rumors andyou all are the ones to confirm
these rumors right?
So the first rumor I heard isthat Hydroway was used in the
Field of Dreams field.
Is that correct?

Speaker 1 (01:31):
Yeah, so Hydroway was the only flat panel drain
specified and approved by MajorLeague Baseball for that field.
So it is the most televisedMajor League Baseball game to
this day.
And in that field the MajorLeague Baseball wanted to put
Hydraway in a horizontalapplication on a natural field

(01:52):
because it's a high-performancesand-based field.
So they dug one-inch trenchesand laid Hydraway and then put
the sand mix and root zone ontop of it to establish that root
zone mix.
That was a mixture that theydid and in doing so the day
before the game they had asubstantial amount of rain three

(02:12):
to four inches of rain thenight before and they were
cutting the grass the nextmorning and in doing so, in
center field is the pump stationfor the drainage, and HydroA
removed so much water theyactually had to put in a second
pump station for the drainageand hydroway removed so much
water they actually had to putin a second pump station behind
the first base dugout.
So it's pretty uniqueapplication.
It was one of the first thatthey did in the high performance

(02:34):
sand base fields where theyactually it's just a shallow
trench where hydroway lays inand your compression strength
allows for the mowing and theturf and it establishes about a
six-inch root zone Because MajorLeague Baseball when I worked
for the Cardinals the outfieldgrass is basically a little bit
taller than a putting green.
So the foot traffic and thecutting and it's cut anywhere

(02:58):
from two to three times a dayand then it's rolled as well.
As you know, your infield grassis a little bit shorter than
your outfield grass but, yeah,it's cut two to three times a
day and rolled so let's speak toa six percent opening moving
water versus an eighty percentopening.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Joe, like you were talking about how the pumps
couldn't even keep up.
Now that may sound like a well,I don't want to install that
because now I gotta have pumps.
But no, you're moving water.
That's what you want, right?
So could you, could one ofy'all speak on that for me?

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, so it's just a visual conception round pipe
versus a flat panel, four inchyou know diameter versus an inch
width.
Hydroway is never going to holdwater.
It's going to remove water andwhen you have a slit slot hole
theory, as you do in pipes, thewater has to make its way, you
know, down through the eightinch, 10 inch trench and then

(03:50):
get into those slit slot holesand there's only about a 5% open
area so for that water to getin there and then move out.
Visually, you know it's hard tocan to see, but once you've
done the testing and you'velooked and researched it, those
slit slot holes can get cloggedwith, you know, your fines and

(04:11):
sediment and everything else.
Where hydroway doesn't hydrowaythe cavity system, it's going to
allow the water to drainthrough all sides so it doesn't
have to go around the pipe andseep in.
It's going to go through ourpipe to a point to where it
can't drain anymore and when itdoes and it starts to come back
up, it hits our system andimmediately, on all sides, exits
to your collector system, wherea round pipe has to.

(04:33):
It builds up and it, you know it, gets the pressure and then
moves it out.
It just has a bigger area tohold water.
I don't want to hold water, Iwant to move water, and in the
video that we've dissected itfeels like a million times, but
it just makes more sense whenyou're talking to people.
What you get most of yourproblems on a natural turf field

(04:54):
is from standing water, andthat standing water is because
it doesn't percolate through thepipe.
Where Hydroway, we have an 18to 28 inch per hour per square
foot perc rate and that's why weallow for the clean core sand
in the USGA standards at 0.2millimeter to 0.5 millimeter,

(05:15):
which is basically a P gravel.
It allows that water to gothrough the system and then our
system captures that water at apoint to where it can't drain
anymore and moves it out.