# Drainage service areas in Collin County and around Plano

> Yard drainage in Plano and 20 nearby cities in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Rockwall counties, with the local rule that shapes a drainage job in each one.

URL: https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/

We plan and install yard drainage in Plano and 20 nearby cities. The clay is much the same from one to the next; the rules about where water may go are not.

Water standing in the yard looks the same in Allen as it does in Rowlett. What changes at the city line is where that water is allowed to go, who issues the permit for a curb outlet, and what you can build in a side swale. At [Clay Plano Drainage Company](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/) we check those rules for the address before we draw a route.

The table below gives the rule that shapes a drainage job in each city, from the city's own manuals and permit pages. Your site visit confirms it for your lot, along with anything your plat or HOA adds.

## The rule that changes the job, city by city

Plano and 20 nearby cities, from the city limits of Prosper and McKinney down to Mesquite and Sunnyvale.

| City | Pop. | The rule that changes the job | Who issues the permit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Plano](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/)Home city |  | No lot-to-lot drainage. Side and back yards need at least 1% fall, and curb or parkway work needs the City's Engineering Permit for public infrastructure. | City of Plano Engineering |
| [Garland](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/garland/) | 252k | Lot-to-lot surface drainage is prohibited in single-family subdivisions, and a private storm line that crosses a neighbor's lot needs that owner's written acceptance. | City of Garland Engineering (right-of-way and easement permits) |
| [Frisco](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/frisco/) | 242k | Any work in City right-of-way or an easement needs a right-of-way permit from a registered contractor, and some subdivisions also require HOA approval. | City of Frisco Public Works (right-of-way and easement permits) |
| [McKinney](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/mckinney/) | 232k | Finished grade must fall at least 6 inches in the first 10 feet from the house, side and back yards at least 1%, and lot-to-lot drainage is not allowed. | City of McKinney Engineering (Engineering Design Manual) |
| [Mesquite](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/mesquite/) | 158k | Filling or grading needs a City Engineer permit, but existing single-family lots under one acre with a house on them are exempt. | City of Mesquite City Engineer (grading and floodplain development permits) |
| [Carrollton](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/carrollton/) | 138k | French drains, and the curb cuts for them, are permitted through the Engineering Department, not as plumbing work. | City of Carrollton Engineering Department (French drains and curb cuts) |
| [Richardson](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/richardson/) | 125k | Streets and alleys are designed to hold water up to the top of the curb in large storms, so a curb outlet can back up while the street is full. | City of Richardson (permits for curb and right-of-way work confirmed per address) |
| [Allen](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/allen/) | 109k | A concrete slab may reach no more than 1 foot into a side swale, fences must cantilever over the drainage easement, and right-of-way work needs a permit number and an 811 ticket. | City of Allen Engineering (right-of-way permits) |
| [Rowlett](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/rowlett/) | 68k | Adding, removing or moving dirt on a lot needs a grading permit, and pool equipment can't sit in a drainage swale. | City of Rowlett Development Engineering (grading and right-of-way permits) |
| [Wylie](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/wylie/) | 64k | Any curb or street section removed for private work is restored to standard, recorded with the permit and inspected by Public Works. | City of Wylie Engineering (right-of-way construction permits) |
| [Rockwall](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/rockwall/) | 55k | Plat reviews allow no lot-to-lot drainage: water leaves as sheet flow at the property line or through an easement on the neighboring lot. | City of Rockwall (permits confirmed per address) |
| [Prosper](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/prosper/) | 49k | Curb coring needs a right-of-way permit and is allowed only when surface flow can't be handled: one core per lot, no more than 3 inches across. | Town of Prosper (right-of-way permit for curb coring) |
| [The Colony](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/the-colony/) | 48k | No lot-to-lot drainage unless an easement already exists or is dedicated across every lot the water crosses, and grading-only projects need a Grading Permit. | City of The Colony Building Inspections and Engineering (grading permits) |
| [Sachse](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/sachse/) | 31k | All flatwork and grading in residential districts needs a permit with a plot plan, and nothing may create a drainage hazard. | City of Sachse (residential flatwork and grading permits, right-of-way authorization) |
| [Murphy](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/murphy/) | 21k | Flatwork that touches the driveway approach, curbs or drainage needs a utility permit, and right-of-way permits wait for the first line locate. | City of Murphy (right-of-way/easement, utility and flatwork permits) |
| [Addison](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/addison/) | 18k | Any construction in, under or over public right-of-way needs a permit, and drainage must meet the Town's drainage criteria. | Town of Addison (right-of-way permits; Drainage Criteria Manual) |
| [Lavon](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/lavon/) | 15k | Driveway culverts are at least 18-inch Class III concrete pipe, and right-of-way work needs a Right of Way Activity Permit. | City of Lavon (Right of Way Activity Permit) |
| [Heath](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/heath/) | 11k | Drainage between two or fewer lots is a private matter, and a re-grading permit needs contours and flow arrows to an approved outlet. | City of Heath (residential re-grading permit) |
| [Sunnyvale](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/sunnyvale/) | 10k | A culvert, headwall or drive approach needs a $300 permit that includes the inspection, and private drainage structures are inspected too. | Town of Sunnyvale Engineering (grading, floodplain and culvert permits) |
| [Lucas](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/lucas/) | 8k | Any work in or near a street, right-of-way or easement needs a permit first, and owners keep easements clear. | City of Lucas (permits for work in or near streets, right-of-way and easements) |
| [Parker](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/parker/) | 6k | Lots are laid out to drain away from the house without concentrating storm water onto neighbors, and ditch culverts are sized by the City. | City of Parker (subdivision drainage rules, new-home and site grading review) |

Population figures are rounded current estimates from the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Each rule is a summary; the city's current manual or permit page governs, and we confirm it for the address.

## What the rules have in common

Three things come up in almost every city we serve.

### Water can't be sent onto the next lot

Plano, Garland, McKinney, The Colony and Rockwall all say it plainly, and Texas Water Code section 11.086 says the same for every city: no one may divert surface water in a way that damages a neighbor's property. Every route we plan ends at the street side of your lot, an easement or an approved outlet.

### Moving dirt can need a permit

Rowlett, Sachse and Heath want a permit for regrading on a residential lot, while Mesquite exempts existing single-family lots under an acre. Where a regrade needs one, we arrange it as part of the job.

### The curb belongs to the city

A curb outlet or any work in the parkway is work in the public right-of-way. Plano, Frisco, Allen, Murphy, Wylie, Prosper, Addison and Lucas each want a permit for it, and Prosper limits each lot to one curb core no more than 3 inches across.

[Where can yard drain water go?](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/where-can-yard-drain-water-go/)[Drainage easements in Plano](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/drainage-easements-plano/)[Water from a neighbor's yard](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/neighbor-water-runoff-texas/)

## Tell us the city and what the water does

Send the address and where the water stands. We check the city's rules and your plat, then walk the yard and send a written estimate.