Drainage & Stormwater Management
Stop water before it stops your project — French drains, swales, inlets and stormwater systems.
Drainage and stormwater work moves water away from buildings and out of low spots — French drains, curtain drains, yard inlets, swales, downspout tie-ins, and full stormwater systems including basins and outfalls.
- Homeowners with a wet basement, soggy yard or failing swale
- Builders needing footing drains and roof-leader systems installed
- Commercial owners tying a pad into a municipal storm system
- Farm owners dealing with erosion and standing water
- French drains, curtain drains and footing drains
- Yard inlets, catch basins and pipe networks
- Swale cutting, regrading, stabilization and seeding
- Downspout and sump discharge lines routed to daylight
- Stormwater basins, outfalls and rip-rap aprons
- Step 01
Diagnose
We walk the site — ideally during or right after rain — and find where the water is actually coming from. Most failed drainage jobs solve the wrong problem.
- Step 02
Design the route
We identify a legal, gravity-fed outlet and lay out the pipe run, inverts and inlet locations.
- Step 03
Quote
Written scope with pipe type, sizes, stone, fabric and restoration all itemized.
- Step 04
Install
Trench, bed, set pipe to consistent fall, wrap in clean stone and filter fabric, then backfill.
- Step 05
Restore
Grade restored, topsoil replaced, seed and straw or sod, so the yard doesn't look like a construction zone.
A residential French drain or yard drainage job is typically 1–3 days. Larger commercial storm systems and basins run 1–4 weeks. We prioritize active-water emergencies — a basement taking water gets moved up.
Connections to a municipal storm system require a township or PennDOT permit — we pull those where it's our scope. Work in or near a stream, wetland or floodplain requires PA DEP / county conservation district approval, coordinated with your engineer before we mobilize.
- Machine access along the pipe route — usually 8 feet wide
- A viable downhill outlet point on your property or a permitted connection
- Sprinkler lines, invisible fence and low-voltage wiring flagged in advance
- Understanding that lawn restoration takes a season to fully knit back in
- We can't drain water uphill — if there's no gravity outlet, a pump system is the honest answer and we'll say so
- We don't waterproof basement interiors or install interior perimeter systems
- Stormwater basin and conveyance design is done by a licensed engineer; we build to their plan
- Sometimes the fix is on the neighbor's property, and that's a conversation we'll be straight with you about
We don't publish flat prices for this work because no two sites are the same, and a number pulled out of the air helps nobody. These are the factors that move a drainage & stormwater management quote up or down:
- Length of pipe run and trench depth
- Whether the route crosses driveways, walks or mature roots
- Pipe and structure type — perforated HDPE vs. solid, inlets, basins
- Stone and fabric quantities
- Restoration level — seed and straw vs. sod vs. hardscape repair
- Permits and any required engineering
Will a French drain fix my wet basement?
Often, but not always. If water is entering through the wall or the grade slopes toward the house, exterior drainage plus regrading is the fix. If it's coming up through the slab, you need a different solution — we'll tell you which it is before you pay for the wrong one.
How long until my lawn looks normal again?
We seed and straw immediately. Expect visible green in 2–3 weeks and a fully knitted lawn by the following season. Sod is available if you need it to look finished right away.
Can you tie my downspouts into the new drain?
Yes, and we usually recommend it — roof water is often the single biggest contributor to a wet foundation.
Drainage & Stormwater Management across the Lehigh Valley and surrounding townships: