Yard Drainage on Flat Lots in Troy, IL
Much of Troy's newer housing went onto old farm fields, and that ground has very little fall. Rain spreads across the yard, finds the lowest few inches and stays there. Jon gives the lot enough slope to move the water, and where the ground will not do it alone, he buries a line to carry it out.
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Yard Drainage in Troy
Troy sits on a divide
Troy was platted in 1819 and stayed a small town for a long time. It grew fastest in the 1970s and 1980s, and it has kept growing since, reaching nearly 11,000 people by 2020. Interstates 55 and 70 run along its west side, with IL-162 through the middle as Center Street, Market Street and Edwardsville Road.
The town also straddles a watershed line. The bulk of the city sheds its water east, into small branches of Silver Creek on their way south to the Kaskaskia. The westernmost part drains the other way, to Canteen Creek and the Mississippi valley. Which side your lot is on decides where its water is ultimately headed.
Farm ground turned into backyards
Ground that was farmed for generations was usually left wide and gentle. That suits a field, but a quarter-acre lot needs its water gone within a day of the rain, and on such slight fall it lingers. The low strip along the rear fence or between two houses is where it collects.
The fix is to give that strip a real grade from one end to the other. Jon cuts the high spots, fills the low ones and checks the fall as he goes, so the swale empties toward the street, a rear easement or a ditch instead of holding a puddle in the middle. The guide to grading a yard for drainage shows the idea.
Sump pumps and downspouts with nowhere to go
On a flat lot, the water a sump pump or a downspout throws out often runs straight back toward the house. A buried line is the usual answer, but on ground this level the outlet is the hard part. The pipe has to keep falling the whole way, so it has to end somewhere lower than where it starts.
Jon works that out before any trench is dug. Sometimes the outlet is the street side of the lot, sometimes a rear swale or a roadside ditch. If there is no lower ground within reach, he will say so rather than bury a pipe that holds water.
Ditches and culverts on the older roads
Away from the curbed subdivision streets, plenty of Troy-area homes sit along roads with open ditches. The driveway crosses the ditch on a culvert, and when that pipe silts up or crushes, water backs up into the yard on the high side. A ditch that has filled in over the years does the same thing even with a good pipe.
Replacing a failed culvert, resetting it at the right depth and regrading the ditch either side is part of this work. The driveway culvert guide covers sizing and who to ask. If the drive itself needs rebuilding afterwards, see gravel driveways in Troy.
City permits and JULIE
Building & Zoning for the City of Troy is at 116 East Market Street, and the city publishes erosion control requirements alongside its building information. Ask there before a large regrade, or before any line runs into the street right of way.
JULIE gets the call before the trench, every time. Dial 811 or 800-892-0123 at least two working days ahead and each utility marks its own lines. Lines a homeowner put in, such as an old sump discharge, are not marked by anyone, so tell Jon where they run.
Getting a Troy job priced
Jon comes out, looks at the fall across the lot and where the water can leave, and gives you one free figure. Call or text, and send a picture of the yard after a rain if you can. On flat ground the trouble spot is often only a few inches lower than the rest, which is easier to see with water standing in it.
If a broken patio or walk is holding water, concrete removal in Troy can be done at the same time. Bigger reshaping of a lot is grading and dirt work in Troy, and everything else 3D does here is on the Troy 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 stands in your Troy yard. He checks the fall, finds an outlet and quotes it free.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Flat yards given fall. High spots cut and low strips filled so water drains to an outlet.
- Rear and side swales. Shallow swales regraded to empty end to end instead of ponding.
- Sump and downspout lines. Buried pipe run with steady fall to a lower outlet.
- Driveway culverts. Silted or crushed pipes under the drive replaced and the ditch reshaped.
Troy, IL
A growing town at I-55/70 and IL-162 east of Edwardsville, with new neighborhoods on former farm ground.
Town pageAlso in TroyDemolition & Debris Removal in Troy, IL
See the pageAlso in TroyConcrete Removal in Troy, IL
See the pageAlso in TroyGrading & Dirt Work in Troy, IL
See the pageAlso in TroyGravel Driveways in Troy, 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 pageTroy and the towns nearby
West of Troy the ground starts to roll toward the bluffs, and the drainage problems change with it. Jon does the same work in Glen Carbon, next door to the northwest, and out east in Highland, where acreage lots and road ditches are common. The full spread of towns is on the service area page. Between the bluff towns and the open country, the same job can mean slowing water down or finding it any fall at all.
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.
Why does my Troy yard stay wet for days after rain?
Most of the time the lot simply has too little fall. Water spreads across the lawn and stops in the lowest few inches, often along the back fence. Giving that strip a steady grade to an outlet usually clears it. Clay under the topsoil means very little soaks in, so the water has to run off.
Where should my sump pump line go?
Somewhere lower than where it starts, with fall the whole way. On flat Troy lots that may be the street side, a rear swale or a roadside ditch. Ask the city before a line runs into the street right of way. The levels are checked before anyone digs, so the pipe does not end up holding water.
Do I need a permit from the City of Troy?
A simple regrade or a downspout line may not need one, but bigger grading jobs and work in the right of way can. The city's Building & Zoning office on East Market Street can tell you, and they also publish erosion control rules. Ask before the work is booked.
Can you replace the culvert under my driveway?
Yes. The old pipe is dug out, a new one set at the right depth and grade, and the ditch reshaped either side so water flows through. Who owns the road decides who has to approve it, so check with the city, the township or the county first.
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 Troy.
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 Troy?
Send the job over and Jon will come back to you himself.