Yard Drainage and Regrading in Edwardsville, IL
Most Edwardsville drainage calls come from subdivision yards: a back corner that stays wet for days, a swale that stopped working when the fence went in, downspouts emptying against the foundation. Jon walks the lot, finds where the water wants to go, and regrades or pipes it there.
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Yard Drainage in Edwardsville
The county seat filled in fast, and the yards show it
Edwardsville is the Madison County seat, incorporated in 1818 and home to SIUE. The old blocks along St. Louis Street and in Leclaire are only part of it now. Between 1990 and 2000 the population rose by nearly half, the largest jump in the city's history, and most of that growth went into subdivisions.
Those subdivision lots were graded by a builder working to a plan for the whole street, often in a hurry. Twenty or thirty years on, patios, sheds, fences and flower beds have been added on top of that grade. Each one changes where water runs, and the backyard drainage calls follow.
You own the drainage across your lot
The City of Edwardsville is plain about this on its own drainage page. The developer decided how storm water crosses each lot, and once the lot is sold, the new owner owns that drainage. The city maintains the storm sewer pipes, but it cannot redesign the route water takes through your yard.
Illinois drainage law also says lower ground has to accept the water that naturally runs onto it from higher ground. So if the yard behind yours sits uphill, its runoff is going to arrive. The answer is to give that water a clear path across your lot and out, which is grading work, not a dispute.
Why water sits on a new-build lot
When a subdivision goes in, the topsoil is usually stripped and the clay underneath is driven over by every truck on the job. What comes back on top is a thin layer of soil over packed subsoil. Rain soaks the top few inches and then stops, so it either runs or sits.
Jon looks at the fall first. A common rule of thumb is about six inches of drop in the first ten feet away from the house. Where the ground has settled back toward the wall, he brings in fill, shapes it and leaves it ready for seed. The yard drainage grading guide walks through the same steps.
Downspout and sump lines that go somewhere useful
A downspout that empties onto the lawn a foot from the house is the most common cause of a wet wall. A buried line carries that water underground to a spot where it can come out safely, such as a lower part of the yard or the rear swale. The trench is dug, the pipe laid with steady fall, and the ground put back.
If you hope to tie a line into a street inlet or the storm sewer, ask Edwardsville Public Works before the trench is dug. The city owns those pipes. For a bigger reshape of the lot, the grading and dirt work page covers how the ground is cut and filled.
Locates come first
Gas, power, water, cable and fibre all run through Edwardsville yards, and a drain trench crosses most of them. Before any digging, a locate request goes to JULIE by calling 811 or 800-892-0123, at least two working days ahead. Each utility then marks its own lines with paint or flags.
Lines you or a past owner put in are a different matter. An old downspout pipe, a feed to a garage or a sprinkler line belongs to no utility, so nobody comes to mark it. Tell Jon what you know about them. The guide to calling JULIE has the rest.
Getting a price from Jon
Jon prices it in person, and there is no charge for the visit. The best time to show him the problem is during or just after a heavy rain, so a photo or a short video of where the water stands helps a lot. Call or text and send it over.
If an old patio or walk is what traps the water against the house, concrete removal in Edwardsville can go on the same quote, with the ground regraded once it is out. Everything else 3D does in town is on the Edwardsville page.
Yard Drainage & Grading
Standing water moved off the yard and away from the house: regrading, swales and buried drain lines.
See the serviceTalk to Jon(217) 710-0606
Send Jon a photo of where the water sits after a storm in your Edwardsville yard. He comes out, looks at the fall and gives one free quote.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Regrading at the house. Settled ground built back up so it falls away from the foundation.
- Rear-lot swales. Swales the builder cut, reopened after years of fences and beds.
- Buried downspout lines. Roof water piped underground to a safe outlet instead of the wall.
- Low corners filled. Wet spots brought up with fill and topsoil and shaped to drain.
Edwardsville, IL
The Madison County seat in the Metro East, home to SIUE, with older blocks near downtown and subdivisions spreading out on the bluffs.
Town pageAlso in EdwardsvilleConcrete Removal in Edwardsville, IL
See the pageThe serviceYard Drainage & Grading
Standing water moved off the yard and away from the house: regrading, swales and buried drain lines.
Main service pageEdwardsville and the towns nearby
Edwardsville runs straight into its neighbours, and the drainage work does too. Jon does the same regrading and drain lines next door in Glen Carbon, where lots back onto ravines, and on the steeper streets of Collinsville. The full list of towns 3D works in, from the Metro East up to Montgomery County, is on the service area page. The ground changes a good deal over a few miles here, from flat subdivision lots to ravine edges, so each yard gets looked at on its own.
Four steps, no surprises
Tell us the job
Call, text or send the form. A photograph of the ground and the way in tells Jon more than a description does.
Jon prices it himself
Jon quotes every job. You are not talking to a call centre and the number comes from the person who will do the work.
The machines turn up
Excavator, skid steer or the dump truck, whatever the job actually needs.
It gets left clean
Debris hauled off and the ground graded back, whichever was agreed. The job is not done while there is a pile in your yard.
Photos of his work.
These are photographs from actual jobs. See more recent work. Or read about the full yard drainage & grading service.
Questions people ask
Not seeing yours? Call (217) 710-0606 and ask Jon, or read the guides.
Will the City of Edwardsville fix water running across my yard?
Usually not. The city's own guidance says the drainage across a lot belongs to the owner once the lot is sold, and the city looks after the storm sewer pipes. Call Public Works about a clogged inlet or a sinkhole over a pipe. Water running across the grass is a grading job on your side.
My neighbour's yard drains into mine. Can I block it?
Under Illinois drainage law, lower ground has to accept water that naturally flows from higher ground, so blocking it is not the answer. What you can do is give it a defined path across your lot, usually a shallow swale, so it passes through without sitting near the house.
Do you put in French drains or waterproof basements?
3D handles the ground outside the house: regrading, swales and buried downspout and drain lines to an outlet. Basement waterproofing and gutter work are other trades. Jon will say so if what he sees in your yard needs one of them.
How long does a yard drainage job take in Edwardsville?
A regrade along one side of a house or a single downspout line is often a day. A full backyard with a new swale and fill brought in takes longer. Wet clay slows everything, so dry weather is better for the work. You get a fair idea of the time along with the quote.
Can the lawn be seeded afterward?
Yes. The finished grade is left smooth with topsoil on top, ready for seed or sod. The topsoil can come in on the 3D dump truck as part of the same job, so there is no separate delivery to arrange.
Other work he takes on
Most jobs end up being two or three of these at once, and they get quoted together.
Yard Drainage & Grading in other towns
Demolition & Debris Removal
Sheds, garages, slabs and old buildings taken down and hauled.
Learn moreGrading & Dirt Work
Ground shaped so the water leaves, and keeps leaving.
Learn moreDriveways & Gravel
A drive built on a base that carries weight.
Learn moreExcavation & Site Prep
Ground opened, cut to grade and ready for the next trade.
Learn moreLand Clearing
Overgrown ground taken back to something you can use.
Learn moreHauling & Delivery
Rock, dirt, sand and mulch delivered by dump truck.
Learn moreFree estimate in Edwardsville.
Send the details and Jon will come out and look at it. If it is easier to talk it through, call him directly.
Hillsboro and Montgomery County, Edwardsville, Collinsville, Glen Carbon, Troy, Highland and the Metro East, and across central Illinois to Springfield, Decatur and Effingham.
Need yard drainage in Edwardsville?
Send the job over and Jon will come back to you himself.