French drains and yard drainage in Garland, TX
Garland sits on the same heavy clay as the rest of east Dallas County, and the city has identified the Duck Creek basin as where most of its flooding happens. Here's how homeowners deal with standing water.
Why Garland yards hold water
Garland is built on Blackland Prairie clay. It soaks up water quickly when it's dry and cracked, then swells shut once it's wet. After a long or heavy rain, water that can't run off the surface sits in low spots, along fences, and against foundations. How the clay works →
An older City of Garland engineering presentation (it refers to 2014 flood-map revisions) identified the Duck Creek drainage basin as where most of the city's flooding problems occur. Creek flooding is a city-scale problem, and the city runs its own drainage improvement projects, such as the Cooper and Southern Gardens drainage improvements scheduled through 2027. Most yard problems are smaller: a low corner, a downspout emptying onto a flat lawn, or a neighbor's yard draining across yours. Those are the problems a French drain or regrading fixes.
What it costs in Garland
One DFW pricing service lists French drains at about $60 per foot installed, so a 60-foot run with one catch basin comes to about $3,800. A Dallas landscape firm puts a single problem spot at $2,000–$5,000. Prices vary, so get more than one quote. Where these numbers come from →
Before you dig or hire
- Find the outlet first. The drain has to carry water somewhere lower: the street, a lower part of your lot, or a drainage easement. If it needs to tie into a curb, alley or city inlet, ask the city first.
- Don't send water onto a neighbor's lot. Texas law bars diverting surface water in a way that damages someone else's property. More on the rules →
- Call 811 two business days before digging. It's free, but it won't mark private lines past your meter, like gas to a grill or power to a shed. What to watch for →
- Near a creek? That presentation says Garland requires a floodplain development permit for all development in a FEMA-mapped flood zone. If your lot backs up to a creek or channel, ask Garland's engineering staff first.
- Sprinkler lines. Anyone you pay to repair them needs a TCEQ irrigation license: a licensed irrigator, or a licensed irrigation technician working for one.
Getting quotes
Use the form below. We'll pass your request to an independent drainage contractor who works in Garland, and they'll contact you to look at the yard. It's free, and you're not committing to anything.
City of Garland contacts
Before any drain ties into a curb, alley, street inlet or creek, ask the city what it requires.
Sources
Get a free drainage quote
Tell us what's happening. We'll send it to one independent local drainage contractor who serves your city, and they'll contact you to set up a visit. Free, no obligation.