Winter Storms & Erosion Control
Winter Storms & Erosion Control: What to Watch For in Upstate South Carolina
Winter storms tend to reveal things most people don’t notice other times of the year. When the ground stays saturated and the rain keeps coming, water starts finding new paths loosening the soil. We see this every winter across Upstate South Carolina — especially in yards with a lot of clay, slope, or recent site work.
Erosion doesn’t necessarily show up all at once. It can start small with a soft spot on a slope, a little channel in the dirt, or a puddle that wasn’t there last month. But once the ground gets moving, it usually only gets worse over time, potentially damaging your property in the future.
Why Winter Makes Erosion Worse
Winter hits the soil differently than the rest of the year:
The ground stays wet much longer.
Grass and plants aren’t growing, so roots aren’t holding the soil together.
Clay becomes slick and unstable when it stays saturated.
Runoff gains speed on bare ground and exposed slopes.
Storms push a lot of water in a short amount of time.
Even well-maintained yards can start to shift. And anywhere that’s been cleared or recently graded is especially vulnerable until the soil is stabilized.
What Homeowners Usually Notice First
Most of the early signs are subtle, but they’re worth paying attention to:
Small grooves or washed-out spots appearing on slopes.
Water pooling in areas that never had standing water before.
Soft or sunken areas where the soil has started giving way.
Mulch or gravel shifting in one direction after a storm.
Exposed roots, especially on the downhill side of a tree.
Sediment collecting in driveways, walkways, or the street.
Bare soil where grass used to be.
These signs usually mean the water isn’t moving where or how it should be — or the soil isn’t able to hold up to the amount of stormwater coming through.
What Proper Drainage Work Looks Like
A lot of erosion control is underground, and most people never see it.
The picture above is a good example of the part most homeowners don’t think about.
This was a yard that had a row of trees, a slope, and water running towards the home and foundation. With the hazardous trees gone it had the potential for even more issues with water accelerating further and causing an even bigger problem. But before any stone or pipe could go in, the ground had to be graded and stabilized. The trench you see is lined with geotextile fabric — a layer that keeps the soil and stone separate so the drainage system stays open and doesn’t clog or sink into the clay.
Once the fabric is in place, the trench gets layered with stone, pipe, more stone, and then wrapped and covered. It seems simple, but it prevents the kind of washouts that can reshape a yard over a single winter. Done right, it holds up for years.
This is the part of erosion control most people never see — but it’s the foundation of keeping water where it needs to go.
Common Ways We Control Erosion in Yards
Every property is different, but most solutions fall into a few categories:
Regrading low areas and adjusting slope.
Installing drain lines or French drains to redirect water.
Using catch basins where water naturally collects.
Adding stone (like #57 or surge) to slow down runoff and protect weak spots.
Laying erosion blankets on slopes or bare soil.
Winter seeding and straw to help stabilize disturbed areas.
Repairing or rebuilding washed-out sections before they get worse.
The right fix depends on how your land sits, how water moves, and how saturated your soil stays during winter.
Why Ignoring Erosion Becomes a Bigger Problem Later
We’re not trying to sound dramatic — this is just reality:
Erosion doesn’t stop on its own.
It tends to get faster and more expensive to repair the longer it’s left alone. What starts as a small channel or a soft spot usually turns into a bigger cut in the grade. Water follows the easiest path, and once that path starts forming, storm after storm makes it deeper.
Erosion can eventually affect:
Slopes
Foundations
Driveways and walkways
Patios and retaining walls
Root systems around trees
Recently graded pads or lawns
Winter just makes these issues show up faster.
A Simple Way to Stay Ahead of It
After any strong rain, it’s worth walking around your yard and taking a look. You don’t need to know anything technical — just pay attention to anything that looks different than it did before the storm, small channels, soft spots, concerning puddles, washed out roots, water near foundations, etc. Most problems are easier to fix early, before the ground fully settles, washes out again, or causes damage to property.
Food for thought
Storm season is rough on land, especially here in the Upstate. We see these issues every year — the small warning signs that show up before a bigger washout happens. The good news is that most drainage and erosion problems can be fixed with the right approach, and once they’re handled correctly, they usually stay that way.
Definitely something worth keeping an eye on during these winter months.