Basement Waterproofing a Basement that has Structural Clay Walls Using Weep Holes

Hmmm... I'd have to think about that. I'd have to swap no less than about 1 foot worth of pea gravel in areas above the perimeter drain to have a substrate I could use for something like this unless I opt to use some sort of drain pipe approach...but the dirt substrate would allow molding a swale shape to encourage water to sink into it. I'd have to think about the depth of the pond, too, because I can't see anything less than 3' working as I'm assuming this kind of system depends entirely upon gravity and grade to work well. Then there's the placement of the pond or ponds themselves: if I did something like this, a larger pond would have to go in the front yard directly to the West of the house as close as possible to the street (which would be close to 35-40' away from the home) with maybe a smaller one installed behind the house to the East as close to the alley drive as possible (which would be about 30' away from the house). But basically, it sounds like your vision of this swale system consists of a "grassy trench path" that would be designed to channel surface water into said ponds, correct? If I did something like this, I'd probably opt for something that would transfer water better than that grassy pathway such as digging a 1 foot deep by 3 feet wide trench of topsoil completely out to carve a path that leads to the pond, then place tarp down on the exposed dirt path to prevent water bypassing this path... Then, I'd lay down pea gravel bed for a 4" pipe to rest on but then cover all of that up with the topsoil that was taken off (leaving a swale impression all along its path to encourage the water to sink into but due to the dirt covering everything, would appear as grass and not gravel--in time, at least, once the grass grows back). I mean, I guess this is a possibility. But is there any difference between this approach and the installation of a few dry wells? If I dig the pond(s) deep enough to provide gravity incentive for any water to want to use, it could work, but it would only trap whatever is on the surface (doing nothing about any subsurface water that might still exist beyond whatever gets trapped in this). Also, assuming the water eventually dries up in these ponds, I guess I'd be looking at a bare spot out in the yard whenever the water dries up or are these supposed to appear as grassy sunken spots in yards after the water dries? Leaving only a visible swale (or pipe, if I chose to use one) leading into this sunken grassy spot?

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