# When water crosses the property line: a drainage contractor in The Colony, TX > Drainage contractor in The Colony, TX: swales, regrading and channel drains planned around The Colony's no lot-to-lot drainage rule and grading permits. URL: https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/the-colony/ Drainage contractor in The Colony, TX: swales, regrading and channel drains planned around The Colony's no lot-to-lot drainage rule and grading permits. Last Updated: November 11, 2026 - **Permits:** City of The Colony Building Inspections and Engineering (grading permits) - **Storm drainage:** City of The Colony (streets, right-of-way and drainage easements) - **The rule that changes the job:** Easement for cross-lot flow ## What usually starts a drainage job in The Colony ### Your water heading for the neighbor The back yard drains across the fence into the next lot. The Colony allows no lot-to-lot drainage unless a drainage easement exists or is dedicated through every lot the water crosses. ### The neighbor's water heading for you Runoff from the lot above lands in your yard after every storm. The same rule applies to them, and a swale or basin on your side can carry what still arrives. ### A regrade with nothing else The fix is reshaping the yard, with no pipe at all. The Colony calls for a grading permit on any grading-only project. ### A patio that sheds water at the door Concrete that slopes the wrong way sends a sheet of water at the house. A channel drain across the slab catches it before it gets there. ## Water crossing the fence line? It can go either way: your back yard sends water under the fence into the neighbor’s, or theirs sends it into yours. In The Colony, the city has a clear rule on that crossing. [Clay Plano Drainage Company](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/) regrades yards and builds swales, basins and channel drains in The Colony. We plan each fix around the city’s ban on lot-to-lot drainage, which only an easement can lift. ## The Colony’s rule on lot-to-lot drainage The Colony’s building inspections plan submittal checklist allows no lot-to-lot drainage unless a drainage easement already exists, or one is dedicated through every property the water would cross. That second part is the hard one. An easement through every lot means every owner along the path agrees and records it, which rarely makes sense for one yard’s problem. In practice, the fix keeps your water on your lot until it reaches your own outlet. | Situation | What The Colony allows | What we plan | | --- | --- | --- | | Existing drainage easement across the lots | Water may follow the easement | Read the plat and keep the route inside it | | No easement, water crossing to the next lot | Not allowed | Turn the water to your own street-side outlet | | Easement dedicated through every lot crossed | Allowed once it’s in place | Rarely practical; we’ll say if it is | | Grading-only project | Grading permit | Plan with flow arrows, swale or flume | The [guide to drainage easements](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/drainage-easements-plano/) shows how to find easements on your plat. ## What a grading plan has to show Grading on its own still needs a permit here. The Colony requires a grading permit for any grading-only project, and the plans it asks for set out how the water will move. Three things matter on the drawing: - **Flow arrows** showing the direction water runs across the lot after the work. - **The swale or flume** that carries it, with its location on the lot. - **Matching grade at the property lines,** so the proposed grade meets the existing grade where your lot touches the neighbors’. That last point protects both sides. Your new slope can change a lot inside the lot, but at the fence it has to meet what is already there, so nobody’s yard gets a new wave of water or a new dam. ## Fixing a yard without pushing water next door With the edges held at existing grade, the work happens between them. The usual tools: - **A swale along the property line,** shaped inside your lot to carry water to the street side. [Side-yard drainage](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/side-yard-drainage/) covers the method. - **[Yard regrading](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/yard-grading/)** that lifts low spots and turns the slope away from the slab and toward the swale. - **A [catch basin](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/catch-basins/)** where water gathers in a corner, piped in solid line to the outlet. - **A [French drain](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/french-drain-installation/)** where a long strip stays wet and the soil allows it. Soil varies from lot to lot here. We probe on the first visit to see how fast the ground takes water, and that tells us how much the collector has to carry. ## When the water is coming from next door If runoff from the lot above lands in your yard, the same rule applies to that lot: it isn’t allowed to drain onto yours without an easement. Start with a conversation, and with the plat, before anything else. On your side, you can still protect the house. A swale along the shared line catches what arrives and sends it to your outlet; a basin handles a low corner. Our guide to [water from a neighbor’s yard](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/neighbor-water-runoff-texas/) covers what Texas law says about runoff between lots. ## Before you talk to the neighbor A cross-lot water problem goes better with facts on the table than with opinions over the fence. A little groundwork helps either way, whether the water is leaving your yard or arriving in it. - **The plat,** to see whether a drainage easement runs along the shared line. - **A video during rain,** showing where the water starts, where it crosses and where it stops. - **What changed,** such as a new patio, fence, pool or bed on either lot since the houses were built. - **Where the downspouts on both houses** empty, since roof water can be a large share of the flow. If the conversation stalls, the fix on your own lot still works. A swale or basin inside your line handles what arrives without depending on anyone else. ## Patios and channel drains Hard surfaces bring water faster than lawn does. A patio or walk that slopes toward the house can deliver a full sheet of storm water at the back door. A [channel drain](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/channel-drains/) set across the slab catches that sheet and hands it to a buried pipe. The [channel drain vs French drain guide](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/channel-drain-vs-french-drain/) explains which fits a hard surface and which fits wet ground. ## Along SH 121 The Colony sits along SH 121, between its neighbors to the east and south. Each writes its own drainage rules: - **[Frisco](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/frisco/)** requires a Public Works permit for any work in city right-of-way or easements. - **[Carrollton](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/carrollton/)** permits French drains and their curb cuts through its Engineering Department. - **[Addison](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/addison/)** needs a right-of-way permit for construction in, under or over the public right-of-way. ## How we work a cross-lot problem The property line is fixed, so we plan inward from it. - **Elevations along each line** before any design. - **Flow arrows drawn first,** then the swale, basin or pipe that serves them. - **Grading permit** arranged as part of a grading-only job. - **Water run across the new grade** before the sod goes back. The [guide to fixing yard drainage problems](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/how-to-fix-yard-drainage-problems/) walks through the same order. ## Drainage services in The Colony - [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**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**Channel drains** A grated trench set into concrete at a driveway, patio or garage apron that catches water running across the paving before it reaches the house.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/channel-drains/) - [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**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/) ## How a job usually runs in The Colony ### Where the water crosses Send the address and photos showing where water crosses the property line, in either direction. Note any easement you know of on the plat. ### Grades at the lines On the visit we take elevations along each property line and probe the soil. The Colony wants new grade to match existing grade at the lines, so those readings fix the plan's edges. ### Plan and permit The written estimate shows flow arrows, the swale or flume, and the outlet. A grading-only job goes through The Colony's grading permit, arranged as part of the work. ### Build and run water After Texas811 locates and a white-painted route, we shape or trench, run water across the new grade before backfill, and put the sod and sprinkler lines back. ## Neighborhoods, landmarks and routes ### Routes - SH 121 (Sam Rayburn Tollway) ## The Colony: questions ### Is it legal for my yard to drain onto my neighbor's lot in The Colony? Not without an easement. The Colony's plan submittal checklist allows no lot-to-lot drainage unless a drainage easement already exists or one is dedicated through every property the water crosses. Without that, the fix keeps your water on your lot until it reaches your own outlet. ### Do I need a permit just to regrade my yard in The Colony? Yes. The Colony requires a grading permit for any grading-only project. A plan shows the flow arrows and the swale or flume, and the proposed grade has to match the existing grade at the property lines. We arrange the permit as part of the job. ### Why does The Colony want my new grade to match at the property line? So the work on your lot doesn't push water onto a neighbor's or dam theirs back. Matching existing grade at the lines keeps the water moving the way the neighborhood was designed to drain, while the reshaping happens inside your lot. ### What does regrading or a channel drain cost in The Colony? Our rates are the same in every city. Our typical range for yard regrading is $1,000 to $4,000 per project, and a channel drain runs $60 to $150 per foot. A side-yard swale or pipe is $1,500 to $4,000 per side yard. The written estimate after the site visit sets yours. ### My neighbor's runoff floods my yard in The Colony. What can I do? The no lot-to-lot rule covers their lot as much as yours, so start with a conversation and the plat. On your side, a swale along the line or a catch basin with solid pipe can carry what still arrives to your street-side outlet. ## Nearby service areas - [City of Frisco Public Works (right-of-way and easement permits)**Frisco**](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/frisco/) - [City of Carrollton Engineering Department (French drains and curb cuts)**Carrollton**](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/carrollton/) - [Town of Addison (right-of-way permits; Drainage Criteria Manual)**Addison**](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/addison/) ## Guides for yards in The Colony - [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**Should you use a channel drain or a French drain?** Both are long and narrow, and both end in pipe to the street. One sits in concrete and catches water on the surface; the other sits in soil and gathers water below it. How to choose, and when to use both.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/channel-drain-vs-french-drain/) - [Learn**How do you fix yard drainage problems?** Start with where the water comes from, not with a drain. How Plano's clay, rain and lot rules shape each fix, and how to tell which one your yard needs.](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/how-to-fix-yard-drainage-problems/) ## Get an estimate in The Colony Tell us what the water is doing and where the house is in The Colony.