Long story short, the portion of my backyard along the fence has started turning into a soggy, swampy mess. The worst of it is along the edge of the property, but about half of the yard gets pretty damp and spongy.

It doesn't help that a) the soil has a high clay content and b) my parents had sump pumps and a french drain installed with the outflow directly in the middle of the yard. The basements & foundation are blessedly dry, but the water doesn't seem to have any other place to go now.

There's a slight downward grade which is bringing the water to where it's pooling. None of the adjacent neighbors seem to have this issue. Not sure how to proceed - do we reroute the drain system? Fix the topsoil? Something else entirely?

Drain outlet

Pooling by the tree

Along the fence 1

Along the fence 2