Is this yard drainage plan stupid? | Construction and DIY projects | Forums

Hello! 

I just bought an acre of wooded property in SW Washington.  A year-round creek marks the west boundary, but this time of year the topography routes a pretty serious amount of surface water through the center of the lot from north to south.  Left to gravity and erosion, the natural path of the water would move through the center of the property, flood my neighbors' basement and then eventually make it to their section of creek further south.  

The lower left corner is marked at 0' just to keep elevation estimates simple.  Hopefully this explains things okay in lieu of a full topo map.

So here are my challenges:

1) Get surface water back into the creek without digging a trench next to "my favorite tree"

2) Keep the hardware low cost because it will probably need to be destroyed when the future home is built

My idea right now is to lay french drain piping / gravel above ground and along the "proposed drainage line" and then back fill with hauled in dirt.  This option is attractive to me because it would simultaneously bring up the grade of the "clay crater" and I will need to fill in the swale either way.  

What I don't know is whether this plan is totally irrational.  What am I not thinking of?  

Thanks for reading, looking forward to your thoughts!