# Drainage contractor in Garland, TX, for yards where the water can't go next door

> Drainage contractor in Garland, TX: French drains, swales and basins planned around Garland's ban on lot-to-lot runoff and its easement permits. Book a visit.

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

Drainage contractor in Garland, TX: French drains, swales and basins planned around Garland's ban on lot-to-lot runoff and its easement permits. Book a visit.

Last Updated: November 11, 2026

- **Permits:** City of Garland Engineering (right-of-way and easement permits)
- **Storm drainage:** City of Garland (streets, alleys and drainage easements)
- **The rule that changes the job:** No lot-to-lot drainage

## What usually starts a drainage job in Garland

### Water that runs into the next yard

Your lawn sheds toward the neighbor's fence instead of the street. Garland bars lot-to-lot surface drainage in single-family subdivisions, so the fix turns the water back toward your own outlet.

### A pipe that needs the neighbor's lot

The only fall runs across the house next door. A private storm line on another lot needs that owner's written acceptance, which we ask about before anything is priced.

### A fence line on an easement

The wet strip sits where the plat shows a drainage easement and a fence. Garland Engineering approves fences there, and drain work inside the easement takes its own permit.

### A low pad after years of landscaping

Beds and edging have built up the ground against the slab. We measure the fall from the foundation out and take the grade back down where it has crept up.

## Is your yard draining into the neighbor’s?

Water crossing a property line starts small: a soggy corner by the fence, a wet stain on the neighbor’s patio. [Clay Plano Drainage Company](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/) plans and builds yard drainage in Garland, including French drains, side-yard swales, catch basins and regrading.

In Garland, the direction the water takes is a rule, not just a preference. The city’s standards keep surface water from running lot to lot, so every route we draw ends at an outlet your own lot can use.

## Garland’s rule on water between lots

Garland’s Technical Standards Manual, section 4.12.D, prohibits lot-to-lot surface drainage across property lines in single-family subdivisions. Water that falls on your lot has to leave by your lot’s own path.

That rule shapes the fix more than the pipe does. A drain that dumps the problem onto the next yard isn’t an option, so we start with where your water is allowed to go and work back to where it collects.

| What you want to do | What Garland asks | How we plan it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Let surface water run onto the next lot | Not allowed in single-family subdivisions | Turn it toward your own street-side outlet |
| Run a private pipe across a neighbor’s lot | The adjacent owner’s written acceptance | Ask early; route around their lot if they decline |
| Build in a drainage easement or the right-of-way | Right-of-Way/Easement permit, registration, engineered plan sheet | Put the permit and plan sheet on the schedule before the dig |
| Set a fence in a floodplain or drainage easement | Engineering approval | Flag it on the estimate if the route meets a fence |

The [guide to water from a neighbor’s yard](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/neighbor-water-runoff-texas/) covers what you can ask of the lot uphill from yours.

## When the only fall is through the house next door

Where a Garland lot sits lower than the street at the front, the natural fall can run out the back or across a side neighbor. A private storm line on someone else’s lot needs that owner’s written acceptance under the city’s standards.

We ask about this on the first call, because it changes the design. With the neighbor’s signature, a solid pipe across their lot can be the shortest legal route. Without it, the water has to be lifted, held or turned:

- **A catch basin and solid pipe** that wrap around the house to the front, if the elevations allow it.
- **Regrading the back yard** so surface water reaches the side swale instead of the rear fence.
- **A [yard pump basin](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/sump-pump-drainage/)** when nothing on your lot falls toward the street.

The [French drain vs catch basin guide](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/french-drain-vs-catch-basin/) explains which collector fits which kind of wet spot.

## Easements, fences and the plan sheet

Garland asks for a Right-of-Way/Easement permit for work in city right-of-way or in an easement. The application wants registration and engineered plans drawn at a scale of 1 inch to 50 feet or larger.

For you, that means a drain through an easement isn’t a weekend start. What the plan sheet carries:

- **The route** drawn on the lot, with each basin, cleanout and bend.
- **Depth and fall** from the collector to the outlet.
- **The outlet** and how the water leaves the easement.
- **Restoration**, so the city can see what goes back over the line.

We arrange the permit as part of the job and show it as its own line on the estimate.

Fences are the other easement question in Garland. Engineering approval is needed before a fence goes into a floodplain or drainage easement, and a back-lot fence can sit right on the swale. Our [guide to drainage easements](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/drainage-easements-plano/) shows how to read your plat and find where yours run.

## Grade around the slab

Garland’s grading checklist asks for 6 inches of fall within the first 10 feet from the structure. Unpaved swales need at least 1% slope, paved swales 0.5%, and side slopes stay at 3 to 1 or flatter.

The standards also set the house pad at least 12 inches above the lot’s lowest primary drainage point. Over the years, the ground next to the slab can creep up until that fall is gone:

- **Mulch and bed soil** topped up every spring.
- **Edging and borders** that hold water in a strip against the wall.
- **New sod** laid over the old grass without cutting the old layer out.

When that is the cause, a pipe isn’t the first answer. [Yard regrading](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/yard-grading/) takes the soil back down and reshapes the swale, and [downspout lines](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/downspout-drainage/) move roof water past the beds so it no longer lands at the slab edge.

## From the lake side to the turnpike

Garland covers a lot of ground, from the I-635 and I-30 corridors in the south to the President George Bush Turnpike across the north, with SH 78 and SH 66 running through it. Its eastern edge reaches Lake Ray Hubbard.

We don’t assume a soil type for your street. On the first visit a soil probe shows what the trench will meet and how slowly the ground takes water, and that decides how much stone and fabric a [French drain](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/french-drain-installation/) needs and whether a basin does the job better.

### Neighbors with their own rules

Cross a city line and the drainage rules change. The cities next door draw theirs differently:

- **[Richardson](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/richardson/)** designs its streets and alleys to hold water up to the top of the curb in large storms.
- **[Rowlett](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/rowlett/)** requires a grading permit for adding, removing or moving dirt on a lot.
- **[Sachse](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/sachse/)** asks for a permit with a plot plan for residential grading and flatwork.

## Why we start at the outlet

In a city that won’t let water cross into the next yard, the outlet decides everything else. We pick it first, then shape the route to reach it with steady fall.

- **Outlet before route.** A street-side emitter, a curb line through the permit, or a pump basin when gravity won’t reach.
- **Neighbors asked early.** If a route needs another lot, the conversation happens before the price, not after.
- **Cleanouts where lines join or turn,** so a section can be flushed later instead of dug up.
- **Water run before backfill.** We find any low spot while the trench is still open.
- **A walk-through at the end** so you know where every line and grate sits.

The [guide to where yard drain water can go](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/where-can-yard-drain-water-go/) lays out the outlet choices side by side, and [whole-yard drainage](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/yard-drainage/) covers yards where water comes from more than one direction.

## Drainage services in Garland

- [Service**Side yard drainage** Restoring or replacing the shallow swale between two houses so water from the back yard reaches the street instead of pooling along the fence and the slab.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/side-yard-drainage/)
- [Service**French drains** A trench of washed stone and pipe that collects water held in the soil and carries it to a legal outlet at the street side of the lot.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/french-drain-installation/)
- [Service**Catch basins** A grated box set at the lowest point of a lawn, bed edge or patio that takes in surface water and sends it through solid pipe to an outlet.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/catch-basins/)
- [Service**Yard grading** Reshaping the soil so the ground falls away from the slab and toward a swale or the street, set to measured slopes instead of guesswork.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/yard-grading/)
- [Service**Downspout drainage** Buried solid pipe that takes roof water from each downspout past the beds and the slab to a pop-up emitter, an existing line or a permitted curb outlet.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/downspout-drainage/)
- [Service**Yard drainage systems** One planned route that collects roof, surface and soil water from several parts of the yard and carries it in solid pipe to a legal outlet.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/yard-drainage/)

## How a job usually runs in Garland

### Photos and the plat

Send the address and a few pictures from the last rain. We look at the plat for drainage easements and at which way the lots around yours fall.

### Walk and measure

On the visit we probe the soil, shoot elevations from the slab to each possible outlet and note fences, AC pads and beds in the path. The written estimate names the route.

### Paperwork first

If the route enters an easement or the right-of-way, the Garland permit and plan sheet go in before the dig. A line across a neighbor's lot waits for their signed acceptance.

### Dig, test, put back

Texas811 marks the utilities and we paint the route white. The trench stays narrow, water runs through the line before backfill, and the sod goes back in its strips.

## Neighborhoods, landmarks and routes

### Landmarks

- Lake Ray Hubbard

### Routes

- President George Bush Turnpike (SH 190)
- I-635 (LBJ Freeway)
- I-30
- SH 78
- SH 66

## Garland: questions

### Can my Garland yard drain run through my neighbor's yard?

Only with their written acceptance. Garland's Technical Standards Manual requires it for a private storm line that crosses an adjacent lot, and it bars surface water running lot to lot in single-family subdivisions. We plan routes that stay on your lot and leave toward the street side.

### What will a French drain or side-yard fix cost in Garland?

We use the same rates across the area. Our typical range for a French drain is $25 to $60 per foot, and a side-yard swale or pipe runs $1,500 to $4,000 per side yard. A catch basin with a short pipe run is $500 to $1,500. Your written estimate after the site visit sets the number.

### Do I need a Garland permit to put a drain in a drainage easement?

Yes. Work in Garland right-of-way or easements goes through a Right-of-Way/Easement permit, with registration and an engineered plan sheet drawn at 1 inch to 50 feet or larger. For a route that stays inside your lot and clear of easements, we confirm the requirement for your address.

### Can I keep my fence if it sits in a Garland drainage easement?

Garland asks for Engineering approval before a fence goes into a floodplain or drainage easement. If an existing fence blocks the swale, we plan the drain around the posts or under the fence line, and we tell you where the easement rule may come into play.

### How much slope does Garland want away from a house?

Garland's grading checklist calls for 6 inches of fall within 10 feet of the structure, unpaved swales at 1% or more and side slopes no steeper than 3 to 1. We measure your yard against those figures on the first visit.

## Nearby service areas

- [City of Richardson (permits for curb and right-of-way work confirmed per address)**Richardson**](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/richardson/)
- [City of Sachse (residential flatwork and grading permits, right-of-way authorization)**Sachse**](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/sachse/)
- [City of Rowlett Development Engineering (grading and right-of-way permits)**Rowlett**](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/rowlett/)

## Guides for yards in Garland

- [Learn**What does Texas law say about a neighbor's water runoff?** Natural runoff from a higher lot and water a neighbor has redirected are two different problems. How to tell them apart, write it down, and protect your yard without pushing water back.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/neighbor-water-runoff-texas/)
- [Learn**Drainage easement rules in Plano: what can you build in one?** The strip along your side or back line may be yours on paper and reserved for water in practice. How to find it, what tends to block it, and how to plan around it.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/drainage-easements-plano/)
- [Decision Guide**Where do you drain a French drain in Plano?** The outlet decides the design, so we choose it first. Every option a Plano yard has, what each one needs, and how to pick when the lot is flat.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/where-can-yard-drain-water-go/)
- [Decision Guide**Do you need a French drain or a catch basin?** One works below ground and slowly, the other at the surface and fast. A simple timing test tells you which problem you have, and some yards need both on one line.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/french-drain-vs-catch-basin/)

## Get an estimate in Garland

Tell us what the water is doing and where the house is in Garland.