Why drainage is the biggest problem in this area
Acadiana has roughly 60 inches of rain a year. The ground is mostly clay that does not absorb fast. The water table sits within a few feet of the surface in a normal year. And most properties around here are flat. That combination means water has nowhere to go on its own. It pools, it sits, and it works its way under everything you do not want it under: slabs, sheds, fence posts, root systems. Most of the calls we get for drainage are for problems that started small and got worse over a few seasons until somebody finally said enough.
The fix is almost never one thing. It is a combination of grading the lot so water moves in a planned direction, providing a defined path for that water to follow, intercepting subsurface water with a French drain or curtain drain where it shows up, and getting all of it to a discharge point that can actually handle it. Skip any of those pieces and the system fails the first time you get four inches in an afternoon.
The drainage problems we fix most often
Yard holds water after every rain. Almost always a grading issue plus a soil issue. The lot is flat or low and there is nowhere for water to leave. We re-grade the yard with a positive fall away from the house, cut swales where needed, and provide a defined exit path.
Water sits against the slab. Bad news for the slab and worse news for the foundation walls if there are any. We dig the perimeter, install a French drain at the footing depth, backfill with gravel, and pipe it out away from the building.
Driveway washes out in storms. Usually a combination of no crown, no ditches on the sides, and a culvert that is too small or silted up. We grade the drive with a proper crown, clean and resize the culvert, and shape the ditches so water has a path.
Standing water in the back yard. The classic low spot. We figure out where the water wants to go, cut a swale to guide it there, and sometimes add a catch basin tied to a buried drain line.
Water running from a neighbor's property onto yours. Common in subdivisions where the grading was not finished right. We intercept the runoff at the property line with a curtain drain or swale and route it to the easement or street.
Septic field stays wet. A septic system that sits in saturated ground does not work right. We address the surface drainage around the field so it can do its job.
The tools we use
Re-grading the lot. The first thing we look at on any drainage job. If the yard is flat or falls the wrong way, no drain or pipe is going to fully solve it. We bring in fill where needed, cut the high spots, and shape the surface so water moves in a planned direction at a minimum of about 2 percent slope away from the house.
Swales. A swale is a shallow shaped depression that carries water along a planned path. We cut them across yards and around buildings. Vegetated swales handle slow-moving runoff and look like part of the landscape once the grass takes hold.
French drains. A trench filled with gravel and a perforated pipe at the bottom, wrapped in geotextile fabric. Water enters through the gravel, the pipe carries it to discharge. Used along foundations, across yards that stay wet, and behind retaining walls.
Curtain drains. A French drain installed across a slope to intercept water flowing toward your property from higher ground. The curtain catches subsurface and surface water and routes it around what you want to protect.
Catch basins and area drains. Grates set at low spots, tied to buried pipe that carries water to discharge. Used in yards, along driveways, and at the base of downspout runs.
Downspout extensions and pop-up emitters. Roof water concentrated at downspouts needs to be carried at least ten feet away from the foundation. We bury solid pipe and discharge through pop-up emitters in the yard or tie into the larger drainage system.
Culverts. Where the property meets a road ditch or a drainage easement, the crossing needs a properly sized culvert pipe. We set 15 to 36 inch pipe depending on the upstream area, install the headwalls or rip-rap, and tie the driveway grade across the top.
Discharge points. Every drain needs a place to put the water. We daylight to the parish ditch, the bayou, a pond, or wherever the local code allows. We do not dump runoff onto a neighbor's property.
How we figure out what your property needs
- Walk the property after a rain. If we can, we come look while the problem is actually showing. Wet spots, runoff paths, pooling areas all tell us where water actually wants to go.
- Check the existing grading. Where does the yard fall today, and where should it fall. We use a laser level on bigger jobs to map the current grade and the changes needed.
- Find the discharge point. Before designing any drain, we figure out where the water can legally and physically go. The parish ditch, the street drain, the bayou, the back of the lot, wherever has the capacity and the fall to receive it.
- Plan the system. Combination of regrading, swales, drains, basins, and pipe runs that move water from the problem area to the discharge. Sized for a real storm, not a sunny-day rain.
- Install. Trench, lay pipe, set basins, install gravel, regrade, restore the surface.
- Test. We run water through the system before we leave to confirm it flows the way we planned.
What is and is not included
A drainage quote from us covers the design, the trenching, all pipe and fittings, the gravel and fabric, the basins or pop-ups, the regrading, the discharge connection, and basic surface restoration with seed. It does not include sod, landscaping, or repair of underground utilities we did not damage. We always call 811 before we dig to mark existing utilities, and we work around them carefully.
Timelines and seasons
A simple French drain along one side of a house runs one to two days. A whole-property drainage system with multiple swales, basins, and pipe runs takes a week or more. We try to do drainage work during dry stretches because trenching in wet clay is miserable for the crew and rough on the lawn. Fall and late winter are usually the best windows in Acadiana.
Why this matters for South Louisiana property
Drainage problems do not fix themselves. A wet yard gets wetter every year as the low spot grows and the grass dies off. Water against a slab leads to cracks and eventually to foundation problems that cost ten times what good drainage would have. A driveway that washes out costs more in stone every year than a one-time fix would have cost up front. Doing this part right buys you years of not thinking about water on your property, which is the whole point.
We have fixed drainage on everything from subdivision yards in Carencro and Youngsville to multi-acre rural properties out toward Opelousas and Crowley. The principles are the same. The system has to fit the property, the water has to have somewhere to go, and the install has to be done right. Anything less and you call somebody back in two years to do it again.
Common questions about drainage & water management
My yard floods every time it rains. Can drainage fix it?
Almost always yes. The exact fix depends on why it floods. Could be grading, could be a missing French drain, could be that water from the neighbors is running onto your lot. We walk it and tell you straight what is going on and what it takes to fix.
Are French drains worth it or are they overhyped?
They are worth it when installed right and used for the right problem. Wrapped pipe in clean gravel with fabric on the outside, set at the right depth, daylighted to a real discharge. A French drain done wrong fails fast. Done right, it lasts decades.
Do you handle the discharge if there is no good outfall?
We figure out where the water can go before we start digging. Sometimes that means tying into the parish ditch, sometimes a pond, sometimes building a dry well. We do not install a drain that has nowhere to discharge.
How deep do French drains go?
For perimeter foundation drains, we go to the bottom of the footing, often 18 to 30 inches. For yard drains, 12 to 18 inches usually does it. Curtain drains can run deeper depending on where the water table sits. We pick the depth for the specific problem.
Will I need permits for drainage work?
For private drainage on your own lot that does not affect a public ditch or neighbor, usually not. For culverts at the road, ditch work that affects parish drainage, or larger projects, sometimes. We know the local rules and tell you what applies before we start.
Can you fix drainage on a finished landscaped yard?
Yes. We use smaller equipment where access is tight, work carefully around plants you want to keep, and reseed disturbed areas when we are done. The yard will look rough for a few weeks while the grass comes back, but the drainage will be fixed.
Scotty comes out, walks the property, and gives you a straight quote. Call (337) 288-3795 or send a message.