# Drainage contractor in Murphy, TX: the locate first, then the permit > Drainage contractor in Murphy, TX: French drains, curb outlets and slab drainage in Houston Black clay, with the easement permit after the locate. Call us. URL: https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/murphy/ Drainage contractor in Murphy, TX: French drains, curb outlets and slab drainage in Houston Black clay, with the easement permit after the locate. Call us. Last Updated: November 11, 2026 - **Permits:** City of Murphy (right-of-way/easement, utility and flatwork permits) - **Storm drainage:** City of Murphy (public streets, drainage and utility easements) - **The rule that changes the job:** Utility permit at curbs ## What usually starts a drainage job in Murphy ### A drain line headed for the curb The water's way out is the street. In Murphy, drainage work at a curb or driveway approach brings in a utility permit on top of anything else. ### A route through a drainage easement The wet strip runs where the plat shows a drainage or utility easement. Murphy covers that ground with its right-of-way/easement permit. ### A patio and a drain in one job New flatwork needs a building permit with the easements drawn on it. If the job also changes drainage, a second permit comes with it. ### Clay that stays wet for days Murphy is mapped on Houston Black clay, which takes in water very slowly. Lawns stay soft long after a storm and slab edges see the swell. ## Soft lawn long after the rain stops? A Murphy yard that stays spongy for days, or a bed that floods beside the slab, usually has nowhere for water to go. [Clay Plano Drainage Company](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/) builds French drains, downspout lines and slab drainage in Murphy. Two things shape every job here: the clay under the lawn and the order of the permits. The heavy clay decides how we build the drain. The permits decide when we can start digging. ## Easement and curb work needs its own permit Murphy’s right-of-way/easement permit covers public street right-of-way and the drainage and utility easements recorded on your plat. It is pulled by whoever does the digging, and on our jobs we arrange it with everything else. The timing matters more than the paperwork: 1. **Locate.** The city won’t issue the permit until the first utility line locate is complete. 2. **Permit.** Processing runs about 48 hours once the application is in. 3. **Dig.** Only then does the trench open inside the easement or right-of-way. | Where the route runs | What Murphy asks | | --- | --- | | Entirely on your own ground, no easement crossed | We check this with Murphy for your address | | Through a drainage or utility easement | Right-of-way/easement permit | | To the curb or driveway approach | Utility permit, plus the easement permit where it applies | If you’re not sure what’s recorded behind your fence, our [easement explainer](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/drainage-easements-plano/) shows where to look on a plat. ## When the drain comes with new concrete Sometimes a drainage problem comes to light just as you’re planning a patio or a wider drive. Murphy treats that combination carefully: residential flatwork needs a building permit with the easements shown, and drainage, curb or approach work brings a utility permit as well. That’s a good reason to design them together. A slab poured first can sit right on the natural drain route, and a drain dug first can end up under the forms. - **Plan the outlet** before the slab, so pipe can run under or around it. - **Add a [catch basin](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/catch-basins/)** where the new slab will create a low corner. - **Leave cleanouts** outside the concrete, so the line can be flushed later without breaking anything. ## Houston Black clay under Murphy Murphy is mapped on Houston Black clay, the same soil mapped across central Plano. It is about half clay, drains at roughly 0.03 inches an hour and swells by a large margin when it gets wet. For you, that shows up two ways. First, rain that soaks in can’t get deeper, so the lawn stays soft and low spots hold puddles. Second, the slab rests on soil that swells where it’s soaked and shrinks where it’s dry, so a wet corner and a dry corner pull it in different directions. ### What that means for the drain A [French drain](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/french-drain-installation/) here gets a deeper bed of washed stone, a fabric wrap that keeps clay fines out of the pipe, and an outlet we’ve confirmed before trenching, since the trench walls give almost nothing back to the ground. Our page on [drain design for heavy clay](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/french-drains-in-clay-soil/) goes through each layer. Along the house, [foundation drainage](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/foundation-drainage/) starts with the roof: we pipe downspouts away first, then deal with the beds. ## The outlet comes first Whatever the drain gathers ends up somewhere, and it can’t be next door. Under Texas Water Code section 11.086 nobody may redirect or pond natural runoff so that it harms someone else’s land, which is why a Murphy route usually ends on the street side. The end point might be an emitter that lifts open in the front lawn, or pipe carried out to the curb, and the curb option is where the utility and easement permits come in. Our [outlet options guide](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/where-can-yard-drain-water-go/) compares them. ### Across the city line Murphy runs along FM 544 with Murphy Road heading north toward Parker, and each neighbor has its own rule. - **[Parker](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/parker/)** lays lots out so drainage doesn’t concentrate one lot’s stormwater onto the next. - **[Wylie](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/wylie/)** issues construction permits for right-of-way work through an online portal with a registration good for one year. - **[Sachse](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/sachse/)** requires a permit for any residential grading or flatwork, with a plot plan. ## How we run a Murphy job We pick the outlet, then the route, then the method. In a city that ties the permit to a completed locate, the locate is the first call we make. - **Source first.** Gutters, a neighbor’s higher grade, an overspraying sprinkler head and saturated clay call for different collectors. - **Fall measured** from the wet spot to the outlet, so the line keeps draining. - **Water tested** through the system before backfill. - **Yard restored,** with sod back in its strips and crossed sprinkler lines repaired. If the lawn holds water but nothing seems to feed it, our page on [standing water in the yard](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/standing-water-in-yard/) covers how we find the cause. ## Getting ready for the visit The wettest months on the Plano record are May and October, so spring and fall storms are when Murphy yards give themselves away. A phone video during one is the most useful thing you can send us. Add your address and any survey you have. If you’re planning flatwork, tell us early so both permits can be arranged at once. - **Where the water stands** and how long it stays after the rain ends. - **Which downspouts** run into the beds and which already have extensions. - **Any cracks** you’ve noticed in interior walls or along the slab edge, so we can look at the drainage near them. That’s a moisture question for us, not a structural verdict. - **Gates and access.** Tell us how wide the side gate is, since that decides how we bring stone and pipe in. ## Drainage services in Murphy - [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**Foundation drainage** Drainage work that keeps water from collecting against your slab: downspout lines, perimeter drains and grade along the beam. Not structural foundation repair.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/foundation-drainage/) - [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**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 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/) - [Service**Standing water** Working out whether a puddle comes from rain, sprinklers or soil that can't drain, then matching the fix: a downspout line, a basin, a drain, a regrade or a pump.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/standing-water-in-yard/) ## How a job usually runs in Murphy ### Address and plat Send the address and photos from the last rain. We check the plat for drainage and utility easements, so the permits are known before we come out. ### Site visit We walk the yard, probe the clay, measure the fall and pick the outlet. The written estimate lists the route, each permit and what gets restored. ### Locate, then permit Texas811 marks the utilities first, because Murphy won't issue the easement permit until that locate is done. We paint the route in white and arrange the permit. ### Build and test We trench narrow with the sod set aside, run water through the system before backfill, then restore the lawn and sprinklers and walk the route with you. ## Neighborhoods, landmarks and routes ### Routes - FM 544 - Murphy Road (FM 2551) ## Murphy: questions ### How long does a Murphy easement permit take? Murphy's right-of-way/easement permit application lists about 48 hours of processing, and the permit isn't issued until the first utility locate is complete. We call Texas811 early so the locate doesn't hold up the dig. ### Why would my Murphy patio need two permits? Residential flatwork needs a building permit with the easements shown. When the same job involves the driveway approach, a curb or drainage, Murphy asks for a utility permit as well. We plan both into one schedule. ### What does a French drain cost in Murphy? Our typical range for a French drain is $25 to $60 per foot, the same as everywhere we work. Drainage around the slab runs $2,000 to $6,000 per project and a buried downspout line $300 to $800 per downspout. City permit fees show as their own line, and the site visit and written estimate set yours. ### Does Houston Black clay change how a drain is built in Murphy? Yes. The clay drains at roughly 0.03 inches an hour, so the soil around the pipe barely helps. We use a larger washed-stone zone wrapped in fabric to keep clay fines out, and we make sure the outlet can take everything the trench collects. ### Who maintains a drainage easement behind my Murphy home? That depends on how the plat and the city treat that easement, so we confirm it for your address. What doesn't change is that any digging inside it goes through Murphy's easement permit first. ## Nearby service areas - [City of Parker (subdivision drainage rules, new-home and site grading review)**Parker**](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/parker/) - [City of Wylie Engineering (right-of-way construction permits)**Wylie**](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/wylie/) - [City of Sachse (residential flatwork and grading permits, right-of-way authorization)**Sachse**](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/sachse/) ## Guides for yards in Murphy - [Learn**Do French drains work in clay soil?** Plano's clay moves water at a crawl, which changes where a trench goes, how much stone it holds and what keeps it from silting up. What works here, and why some clay drains quit.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/french-drains-in-clay-soil/) - [Learn**How does drainage affect foundation movement on clay soil?** Plano's clay swells when wet and shrinks when dry, so where storm water lands around a slab matters. What drainage can do about it, and when the house itself needs a foundation professional.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/foundation-moisture-clay-soil/) - [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/) ## Get an estimate in Murphy Tell us what the water is doing and where the house is in Murphy.