We have been in our "new" house three months and we have a problem with the driveway designed to have a dip that is 13.5 inches below the street level. Every rain or watering of the landscape collects water and mud in the driveway, and the swales on each side of the house property. We have contacted DelDot, the builder (many times), the BBB, and Delaware Homebuilders Association and nothing is being done to get help with this problem. The concrete joint that is normall under water and mud is beginning to crumble and winter is not here yet. WJA, Dover, DE

Seems to me this is really the fault of the grading contractor. Your yard needs to be regraded to allow drainage, or else a drain needs to be intalled to route the water to the downhill side of your property. Sounds like they just eyeballed the grade and did not use a transit.

When a driveway will have a "dip" which is below street level, it is customary to first build a six-inch rise at the street before sloping down and away from the street. The rise will keep street water from flowing into the driveway. When building the rise, one must pay attention to the ground clearance of cars and make the rise gentle enough that a car won't scrape bottom passing over it.

Instead of "bad" deign, it sounds more like "no design" to me.

create a french drain or a soakaway