revert water from house

by Brady Cotton
(Land O Lakes, FL)

We purchased our home 3 years ago. Unknown to use, there are several areas in the landscape that flow water to the house, instead of away. This has caused water to leak into the house in several places. Most recently with 3+ weeks of steady thunderstorms, water is sitting and is a daily chore to revert.

We have a large oak in our front yard. This oak is over 30-40 years and provides extreme benefits to our house via shade. I know some of the roots are pushing up concrete in the driveway but I am ok with this. The main issue I have is the walkway to our front door. Water flows down to the front door instead of away. We have at least a 4-5 inch step up to our front door. When it rains heavy, the water from the driveway and overflow from the gutters will flow to the front door. I originally tried to counter this by creating a large bed up front of wood chips (free chips from local tree company) which has assisted greatly with light rain, even consistent light rain. This mulch just soaks it up. I added some paver's to keep the heavier water from pushing the mulch onto the walkway, which also helped. I am still battling the issue of the grade difference. It is visually apparent, in grade difference, to the point when water does start to flow, there is a visual flow.

I have knowledge in horticulture, landscape maintenance, and I study permaculture, but I feel totally lost at understanding what to do for this situation, nor am I an expert in any of the above stated practices. It seems simple to fix but I feel overwhelmed. Any guidance is greatly appreciated. Removing the large oak is not an option for us. I have attached some pics of the area post thunderstorm.

ANSWER
Hi Brady,
You might consider putting in a trench drain where the walkway meets the landing near your front door. This would have to lead to a drainage pit somewhere on your property. It's not an inexpensive solution, but I believe it would work if you want to keep the tree and your existing walkway.
Trench Drain https://www.landscape-design-advice.com/trench-drains.html

Susan