When our washer drains the water comes up from the ground in the back yard. What could be the problem?

Only when using washer? Filled septic tank, saturated drain field. Have someone look at the tank and drain field. With all the rain we have been having in the Atlanta area, this has been an increasing problem due to poor percolation in clay soil.

City sewer or septic tank? If you're on a septic tank then you have a grease trap that needs to be cleaned our. On septic systems the drains from the kitchen and washer run to a grease trap before entering the septic tank. This is so lint and kitchen grease don't clog the drain field. Dig down. Locate the grease trap and clean it out. Good luck, Tom