# Prosper, TX drainage contractor for yard drains, with a 3-inch limit at the curb

> Drainage contractor in Prosper, TX: French drains, pop-up outlets and curb cores planned to the town's coring rules and its sloping Heiden clay. Book a visit.

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

Drainage contractor in Prosper, TX: French drains, pop-up outlets and curb cores planned to the town's coring rules and its sloping Heiden clay. Book a visit.

Last Updated: November 11, 2026

- **Permits:** Town of Prosper (right-of-way permit for curb coring)
- **Storm drainage:** Town of Prosper (streets, curbs and right-of-way)
- **The rule that changes the job:** One 3 in curb core per lot

## What usually starts a drainage job in Prosper

### A drain that wants to go through the curb

The yard drain needs an exit and the curb is right there. Prosper allows a curb core only when surface flow can't handle the water, and only one per lot.

### Too much water for one small pipe

Roof lines and a yard drain all need the same outlet. A single core of 3 inches or less sets a ceiling on what can go to the street that way.

### A slope that is washing out

Parts of Prosper are mapped on eroded Heiden clay slopes of 3 to 5 percent. Fast water leaves bare ruts and carries soil toward the street.

### A slab edge that stays wet

Heavy clay beside the foundation holds water after rain and swells. Downspouts that let go at the wall make it worse.

## Water with nowhere to go but the street?

When the yard is wet, the curb looks like the obvious exit. In Prosper a curb core is the fallback, allowed only when water can’t leave over the surface. [Clay Plano Drainage Company](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/) installs French drains and outlets in Prosper in that order.

So the first question on every job is whether the yard can drain over the surface.

## What Prosper’s curb coring rules say

Prosper’s curb coring guidelines are unusually specific. A core requires a right-of-way permit, and it’s allowed only where surface flow cannot be accommodated.

| Rule | What it means for your drain |
| --- | --- |
| Monolithic 6-inch curbs only | Not every curb can be cored |
| One core per lot, 3 inches max | Every line that goes to the street shares one small opening |
| Perpendicular crossing of the right-of-way | The line runs straight to the curb, not at an angle |
| Sidewalk bores backfilled with flowable fill | The walk is bored under, not broken, and won’t settle |
| 2 feet clear of meters, laterals, mailboxes and lights | The core’s spot is set by what’s already in the parkway |
| Inspection booked 48 hours ahead | The town sees the work before it’s closed |

Arranging the permit and booking the inspection are on us, not you.

## Surface first, curb second

Because the core is a last resort, we look hard at the surface options first. They are often simpler anyway.

- **An emitter in the front lawn** lifts open to release water over the grass during a storm and drops shut afterward.
- **[Regrading](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/yard-grading/)** can restore a front slope that sends water to the gutter on its own.
- **A swale** along a side yard carries sheet flow to the street without any pipe at the curb.

Only when none of those can take the water does a core go on the plan. For a side-by-side look at every exit, see [our outlet guide](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/where-can-yard-drain-water-go/).

### Sharing a 3-inch opening

One core of 3 inches or less is a real limit. Roof water from several [downspouts](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/downspout-drainage/) plus a yard French drain can be more than that pipe should carry in a heavy storm.

When the flows add up, we split them: some lines to emitters in the lawn, one to the core. That way no single outlet is asked to do everything, and the lawn emitters keep working even if the core line is ever slowed by leaves at the gutter. Cleanouts at each junction let us flush any branch on its own.

## Sloping clay in Prosper

Parts of Prosper are mapped on Heiden clay, on 3 to 5 percent slopes marked as eroded. It’s a heavy clay, as prone to swelling as the Houston Black under east Prosper, and it sheds water slowly.

On a slope, that combination works against you twice. Rain can’t soak in fast, so it runs; and running water on bare clay cuts ruts and carries soil toward the curb.

- **Break long slopes** with shallow swales that catch water before it gathers speed.
- **Slow the outlet** with rock or a spreader where a line lets go.
- **Build for clay.** A [French drain](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/french-drain-installation/) here needs a generous stone zone and fabric to keep fines out, the build described in [our page on drains for heavy clay](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/french-drains-in-clay-soil/).

### Along the foundation

A slab on swelling clay shifts when the soil under one edge is soaked and the soil under another is dry. [Foundation drainage](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/foundation-drainage/) starts with the roof: we pipe downspouts away and keep the beds sloping outward, and the guide to [foundation moisture in clay soil](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/foundation-moisture-clay-soil/) covers why.

## Prosper’s neighbors

Prosper runs from US 380 north, with Preston Road and the Dallas North Tollway carrying traffic through it. Its neighbors handle drainage their own way:

- **[Frisco](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/frisco/)** treats work inside a recorded easement, not just at the street, as permitted right-of-way work.
- **[McKinney](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/mckinney/)** wants finished grade to fall at least 6 inches in the first 10 feet from a building.
- **[The Colony](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/the-colony/)** lets water cross between lots only through a drainage easement covering every property on its path.

## How a Prosper job comes together

We decide the outlet before the route, and on a Prosper lot that means checking the surface options before the curb.

1. **Source.** Roof, slope, sprinkler or soaked clay, each traced on the visit.
2. **Outlet.** Surface where it works; a single permitted core where it doesn’t.
3. **Fall.** Taken with a level from the soggy spot down to the exit, so the line never holds water.
4. **Test and restore.** Water through the system before backfill, the town’s inspection where a core is involved, then sod and sprinklers back.

## Before you send photos

A few pictures from the street side tell us most of what we need to know about a Prosper outlet:

- **The curb in front of the lot**, so we can see whether it’s the monolithic 6-inch type the guidelines require.
- **The parkway**: meters, mailbox, lights and any cleanouts already there, since the core has to keep 2 feet from them.
- **The sidewalk**, if there is one, because a line to the curb would be bored beneath it.
- **A storm video** of the front yard, showing whether water already reaches the gutter over the grass.

Spring and fall are when these yards show their problems; on the nearby Plano record, May and October are the wettest months.

## One more option

Where one wet low spot is the whole problem, a [catch basin](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/catch-basins/) may be all it takes; the guide to [French drain vs catch basin](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/french-drain-vs-catch-basin/) helps you compare.

## Drainage services in Prosper

- [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**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 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**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**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/)

## How a job usually runs in Prosper

### Address and photos

Send the address and storm photos, especially of the front yard and curb. We look first at whether the water can leave over the surface.

### Site visit

We walk the lot, probe the clay, measure the fall to the street side and decide between a surface outlet and a curb core. The written estimate explains the choice.

### Permit and inspection

If a core is needed, we arrange the right-of-way permit and book the town's inspection 48 hours ahead. Texas811 marks the utilities and we paint the route in white.

### Build and restore

We trench narrow with sod set aside, water-test the system before backfill, restore the lawn and any sidewalk crossing, then walk the route with you.

## Neighborhoods, landmarks and routes

- East Prosper

### Routes

- US 380
- Preston Road (SH 289)
- Dallas North Tollway

## Prosper: questions

### Can I core the curb in Prosper for my yard drain?

Only with a right-of-way permit, and only when surface flow can't be accommodated. Prosper's curb coring guidelines allow one core per lot, no larger than 3 inches across, in monolithic 6-inch curbs.

### How far does a Prosper curb core have to be from my water meter?

The town's guidelines keep the core and its line at least 2 feet clear of meters, laterals, mailboxes and lights. The line also has to cross the right-of-way perpendicular to the street, which can change where we route it.

### How much does a French drain cost in Prosper?

The same as anywhere we work: our typical range for a French drain is $25 to $60 per foot. A buried downspout line runs $300 to $800 per downspout and a catch basin with a short pipe run $500 to $1,500. Any permit fee is its own line, and the site visit and written estimate set yours.

### What happens to a sidewalk when a drain line crosses it in Prosper?

Prosper's coring guidelines say sidewalk bores are backfilled with flowable fill. We bore under the walk rather than break it, and the fill keeps the walk from settling over the pipe.

### Why does my Prosper yard erode on the slope?

Part of Prosper is mapped on eroded Heiden clay with 3 to 5 percent slopes. Water that runs straight downhill picks up speed and soil. We break up long slopes with swales and slow the water at each outlet.

## Nearby service areas

- [City of Frisco Public Works (right-of-way and easement permits)**Frisco**](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/frisco/)
- [City of McKinney Engineering (Engineering Design Manual)**McKinney**](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/mckinney/)
- [City of The Colony Building Inspections and Engineering (grading permits)**The Colony**](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/the-colony/)

## Guides for yards in Prosper

- [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/)
- [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/)
- [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 Prosper

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