Drainage, Grading & Site Work
Yard Drainage Solutions in Monroe, LA — Standing Water Fixed at the Source
A yard that stays swampy for days after a storm is not a mowing problem — it is a water-routing problem. College Bros designs and installs French drains, swales, downspout extensions, and regrading across Northeast Louisiana, starting with a free on-site assessment.
Northeast Louisiana yards fight a two-front war against water. Underneath, the parish sits on dense clays and silts that accept rain about as eagerly as a parking lot — water that lands here mostly has to travel somewhere, because very little of it soaks in. Overhead, our storms do not drizzle; a spring system can drop inches of rain in a single afternoon. Put slow soil under fast rain on a flat lot and you get the yard half of Monroe knows too well: puddles that outlast the week, a side yard that squishes in January and bakes into cracked hardpan in August, mower ruts, drowned grass, mosquito nurseries, and — the expensive version — water parked against your slab. None of that is bad luck. It is a routing problem, and routing problems have engineering answers.
Engineered for the Lot, Not Pulled Off a Shelf
There is no one-size drainage product, which is why we do not sell one. Every drainage fix is engineered for the lot — and it starts with a free on-site assessment. Ideally we walk your property during or right after a rain, because dry-day guesses miss what water actually does; if the weather will not cooperate, a phone video of your yard mid-storm tells us nearly as much. From that walk we map where water enters the property, the paths it travels, the low spots where it parks, and — the question every successful drainage project lives or dies on — where it can legally and permanently exit. Then we design the system that connects those dots, which might be a buried downspout line, a French drain, a reshaped swale, a catch basin feeding a drain line, regrading, or some combination, and put a written custom quote in your hands. No pressure, no obligation, no number invented before we have seen the water.
Why the DIY Fix Keeps Failing
If you have already fought this battle with a weekend and a box-store French drain kit, you know how it ends. The usual culprits: a trench dug too shallow or pitched the wrong direction, so water sits in the pipe instead of leaving; perforated pipe laid without filter fabric, which Louisiana clay silts shut within a couple of seasons; and a discharge point ten feet from the house, where the water simply soaks back toward the same low spot it came from. There is a legal trap too — Louisiana law requires a Louisiana One Call (811) utility locate before any digging six inches deep or greater, something most weekend trenching skips entirely. We open the 811 ticket before every dig, hand-dig near any marked utility, keep our trenches within safe depth limits, and put your lawn back together when the pipe is in the ground.
The crew doing this work is the same insured, Monroe-based operation behind more than 5,000 completed jobs and a 4.8 rating across 48 Google reviews — and the same guarantee applies: not happy? We make it right. Drainage pairs naturally with the rest of what we do, from storm cleanup after a system blows through to bed and lawn work once the yard finally dries out. We serve Monroe, West Monroe, Sterlington, Calhoun, Swartz, and Lakeshore — roughly 25 miles around our shop in Monroe. Book your free assessment online, or call or text (318) 600-9123 and send a video of the yard doing its swamp impression.
Drainage Work We Design and Install
Downspout Extensions and Routing
Most homes dump roof water right at the foundation — the single worst place it can go. We route gutter discharge away from the slab through surface or buried extensions, typically 5 to 25 feet, ending at a real outlet instead of a flower bed. Often the highest-impact, lowest-cost fix on the property.
French Drains
Perforated pipe set in a gravel-filled, fabric-lined trench that intercepts groundwater and surface runoff before it reaches the place you do not want it. The fabric is what keeps clay from silting the system shut — the detail most failed DIY installs are missing.
Swales and Regrading
Shallow, shaped channels and reshaped ground that move sheet water across the lot by gravity. For stubborn yards we sometimes run a swale over a French drain in the same alignment — surface water rides the swale while subsurface water hits the pipe.
Catch Basins and Area Drains
Inlets set at the low spots that collect ponding water and feed it into a buried drain line. The right answer for that one corner of the yard that becomes a pond every time it rains hard.
Sump Discharge Lines
If you have a sump pump, where its discharge goes matters as much as the pump itself. We route the outlet side well away from the foundation so the pump stops recycling the same water. The pump and its wiring stay with a licensed plumber — we say so up front.
Honest Scope, Stated Plainly
Septic systems, foundation repair, interior waterproofing, and deep excavation belong to licensed specialists, and we will tell you that on the spot instead of selling around it. What we install is residential drainage done correctly: 811 locates, safe trench depths, and a discharge plan that actually works.
What the Free On-Site Assessment Covers
Watching the Water, Not Guessing
We try to walk the property during or just after rain, when the problem shows itself. Can't time the weather? Your storm photos and videos do the job — actual flow beats any dry-day theory.
Every Source, Mapped
Roof and downspout discharge, runoff arriving from uphill neighbors or the street, irrigation and HVAC condensate, and the persistent wet spots that signal subsurface flow. You cannot route water you have not accounted for.
The Discharge Answer
Collecting water is the easy half; getting rid of it is the hard half. We identify a gravity outlet that is lower than the problem area and legal to use — never your neighbor's yard, never back toward a foundation.
Soil and Site Constraints
Clay versus sandy soil changes the whole design, and so do tree roots, existing hardscape, slopes, and property lines. We flag what shapes the plan while we are standing on it.
A Sketch and a Written Quote
You get a drawn layout of the proposed system and a custom price for your lot — what goes in the ground, where it runs, where it exits, and what the restoration looks like afterward.
How a Drainage Project Works
Book the Free Assessment
Reserve a visit online in about a minute, or call or text (318) 600-9123. Storm photos or video of the yard at its worst help us before we ever arrive.
We Walk the Water
Sources, flow paths, low spots, soil, and the discharge point all get mapped on site. You see the reasoning, not just the conclusion.
Written Custom Quote
A sketched design and a firm number for your specific lot — no published flat rate, because trench length, materials, and discharge route differ on every property. Larger projects can be financed through Wisetack — ask about monthly payment options with your quote.
811, Then Install
We open the Louisiana One Call ticket, wait for utility marks, hand-dig near anything flagged, set the system to grade, and restore the lawn over the trench line.
Test and Stand Behind It
The system gets checked, the work gets photographed, and the College Bros guarantee applies: not happy? We make it right.
Make It Monthly — Financing Through Wisetack
Bigger projects don't have to wait on a lump sum. We offer consumer financing through Wisetack, so you can split a project into monthly payments — checking your options takes about a minute and won't impact your credit score. Just ask when you get your free quote.
All financing is subject to credit approval. Terms vary and not all customers will qualify. Financing is provided by Wisetack's bank partners.
Yard Drainage Questions, Answered Straight
Why does my yard hold water after every rain?
Usually three factors stacking up. First, soil: most of Ouachita Parish sits on dense clays and silts that absorb water very slowly, so rain has to travel across the surface rather than soak in. Second, grade: many lots here are nearly flat, or worse, pitched subtly toward the house, so water that cannot soak in has nowhere to flow. Third, concentration: every downspout on your roof collects hundreds of square feet of rainfall and fires it at one spot, often right beside the slab. Compacted soil from construction or heavy foot traffic makes all three worse. The fix is matching a system to whichever combination your yard has — which is exactly what a free on-site assessment sorts out.
How much does yard drainage cost in Monroe, LA?
Honest answer: there is no flat rate we could publish that would be true for your yard, so we do not publish one. Drainage pricing depends on trench length and depth, pipe size and materials, how many downspouts or low spots feed the system, where the discharge point is and how far away it sits, and how much lawn restoration the dig requires. Two houses on the same street can need very different systems. What we promise instead: the on-site assessment is free, the quote is written, specific to your lot, and carries zero obligation. Larger projects can often be split into phases, and monthly payment options are available through Wisetack financing (subject to credit approval; terms vary) — ask when you get your quote. Text photos of the problem to (318) 600-9123 to get the conversation started today.
What is the difference between a French drain and regrading?
They solve different halves of the same problem. Regrading reshapes the surface of the ground — building gentle slope and swales so rain flows across the yard to a discharge point instead of pooling. A French drain works below the surface: perforated pipe in a gravel-and-fabric trench that intercepts water moving through the soil and carries it away. If your yard sheets water and ponds in low spots, grading may be the answer; if the ground stays saturated and squishy long after the surface looks dry, that points to subsurface water and a French drain. Heavy cases get both, sometimes in the same alignment — a swale shaped over a French drain so each layer of water has its own exit. The assessment tells us which yours needs.
Where does all that water actually go?
This is the question that separates drainage systems that work from ones that just relocate the puddle. Every design we install ends at a defensible discharge point — usually a gravity outlet that daylights at a spot lower than the problem area, into a ditch, swale, or street-side drainage where that is permitted. What we never do: dump water onto a neighbor's property, discharge at the foundation of any structure, or end a pipe where the water just runs back to the low spot it came from. In yards with no workable gravity outlet, a dry well can be an option, though we are candid that infiltration pits work less well in heavy clay — if it is not the right tool for your soil, we say so rather than install it anyway.
Do you call 811 before digging in my yard?
Always — it is Louisiana law, not a courtesy. Any excavation six inches deep or greater requires a Louisiana One Call (811) notification before digging, and drainage trenches go deeper than that. We mark the planned dig area, open the ticket, wait for the utility locators to flag electric, gas, water, sewer, and communication lines, and hand-dig anywhere near a marked utility instead of trusting machinery next to a gas line. The locate is free; it just adds a couple of days between your approval and the first shovel. That short wait protects your property, our crew, and your utility service — we will never skip it to start sooner.
Can drainage work stop water from getting into my house?
Often, if the cause is outside. A huge share of water-against-the-house problems trace to downspouts discharging at the slab and ground graded toward the foundation — both squarely drainage problems we fix with extensions, regrading, and interception drains. What we will not do is oversell the scope: if your foundation already has cracks letting water through, that needs a foundation contractor first, and interior waterproofing or sump pump installation belongs to those specialists. At the assessment we tell you which side of that line your situation falls on, fix what is genuinely a drainage cause, and point you to the right trade for anything that is not ours to touch.
Tired of the Swamp? Get the Free Drainage Assessment
Book online in about a minute, or call or text (318) 600-9123 — send a video of your yard mid-storm and we show up already knowing half the answer. Same-day response, a system engineered for your lot, and a guarantee that stands behind the work.