Clay yards hold water and rocky lots shed it too fast. We watch where your water goes, then use the simplest grade, swale or drain that sends it to the street.
Drainage trouble in San Antonio comes in two forms. On the clay south and east sides, rain soaks in slowly, so yards pond and the soil along the slab swells. On the rocky north side, rain runs off thin soil fast, comes down the slope from the lot above and pushes against the house or cuts channels through the yard. We look at which kind your yard has before choosing a fix.
Our tools are regrading, swales, French drains, buried downspout lines and, where the soil allows, pop-up outlets. The simplest fix that works is usually best: reshape the ground so it falls away from the house, and give the water a clear path to the street. A French drain earns its place where water moves under the surface or seeps from a hillside.
Texas Water Code section 11.086 bars diverting or impounding the natural flow of surface water in a way that damages another person's property. So we plan the outlet first and keep the water on your lot until it reaches the street or another approved point. On a slope, we add rock or plantings at outlets so the water does not wash out soil in the next big storm.
Drainage solutions in San Antonio: common questions
Why does my yard flood in the clay?
Black clay takes water in very slowly. If the yard is flat or slopes the wrong way, the water just sits.
Can you stop runoff from the lot above me?
Often, with a swale or a curtain drain on the uphill side that carries water around the house.
Do drains work in rocky ground?
Yes, but the trench may need a rock saw. We plan the route to avoid the hardest rock where we can.
How it works
- Free estimate: Call, text or book online. We walk the site with you.
- Written quote: Scope, equipment and price in writing.
- Utility locate & plan: We have utilities marked and plan access, haul-off and erosion control.
- Dig, grade & clean up: We complete the work, grade the site and haul away spoil.