I bought my first home last fall and it has a very steep woodland bank with at least four natural springs on it. One is used as a water source for my neighbor, another is too close to the back of the house, but two others (plus the outlet for a drain that runs across the back of the house)empty into one area that is very wet and mucky (and close to the sitting area in the very small yard). I was hoping it would be easy to dig it out and set some rocks for the water to "trickle" over; but that is proving to be wrong. A previous owner filled the area with building bricks and rocks, the area was covered in vinca, and there are tree roots. I've cleared an area about 5x5 (not too deep) and the water oozes out of the bank at whatever is the lowest spot I've dug out. I'm a bit lost on how to proceed. I suppose I'd rather keep it natural than dig up a lot of the bank to put in drains to try and create some sort of waterfall. I would like it to be tidy. I've read a lot about ponds and fountains and neither seem to address this. Has anyone experimented with this sort of thing?