French drains and yard drainage in Plano, TX
Plano's clay soil and mostly built-out neighborhoods mean drainage problems are usually about moving water off an existing lot. Here's what works and what the city handles.
Why Plano yards hold water
Plano sits on Blackland Prairie clay, the same expansive soil found across Collin and Dallas counties. Dry, it cracks and absorbs water fast. Wet, it swells shut. So after a long rain, water sits wherever the ground is flat or low. How the clay works →
Most of Plano is already built out, so drainage fixes here are usually about an existing yard: ground that has settled toward the house, downspouts dumping onto flat lawns, or water from the lot next door.
What the city handles, and what it doesn't
Plano runs a citywide stormwater program funded by a monthly drainage fee on utility bills. On Oct. 27, 2025, the City Council raised residential drainage rates for the first time since 2020, to pay for repairing streambank erosion. A city study that began in 2022 assessed more than 3,000 erosion sites and ranked them by severity.
For erosion on private property, Community Impact reported that owners must grant the city property rights and pay a flat fee, $10,000 for residential or HOA sites, to join the program. Standing water in a yard is a homeowner's job, which is what French drains and regrading are for.
What it costs in Plano
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
- Plan the outlet. Ask the city before tying a drain into a curb, alley or storm inlet. That's public property.
- Check easements. If your lot includes a floodplain or drainage easement, Plano has rules for work inside it.
- 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 →
- Don't push water onto a neighbor's lot. Texas law makes that actionable if it damages their property. More on the rules →
- 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 Plano, and they'll contact you to look at the yard. Free, no obligation.
City of Plano 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.