One of the main problems with our back yard is that during really heavy
rains the water builds up on the back porch. The final straw was when
it actually ran over the window wells and into the basement. I dug a
trench 60 ft long & 12" deep in order to run water around the side of the
house and send it harmlessly down the hill. Along the back of the
porch slab I put 2 catch basins in order to collect the water efficiently.
This has solved our problem and we have had some torrential rains.