Most drainage work is digging. We regrade yards, cut swales, set catch basins and dry wells, run drain lines and culverts, and build drainage behind retaining walls, so water leaves your property the way you want it to.
Drainage Excavation in Boise and the Treasure Valley
A good drainage system mostly disappears once it's done. What you notice is a lawn that dries out after a storm, a crawlspace that stays dry in April, and a driveway that doesn't ice over by the garage. Getting there takes careful digging, steady fall on every pipe, and a place for the water to end up.
We do drainage excavation in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, Kuna, Star and close to home in Caldwell. If you know you have a water problem but not what's causing it, start with our drainage solutions page. This page covers the systems we build once the cause is clear.
Drainage Systems We Dig and Install
Regrading and swales
Moving water across the surface is usually the cheapest fix and the one that lasts longest. We reshape the ground so it pulls water away from the house, and where water needs a path, we cut a swale. A swale is a shallow, wide channel, grassed or lined with rock, that carries runoff along a side yard or across the lot to a safe spot. Larger regrades fall under site preparation and grading.
Downspout extensions and drain lines
Roof water is a big share of the water around most houses. We bury solid pipe from each downspout and carry it past the foundation backfill to a swale, a dry well or an outlet in the lawn. A short splash block often dumps water right onto that backfill, which is the loosest soil around the house and the first place water soaks down to the footing.
Catch basins and area drains
Low spots that can't be graded out, like a patio corner or a pinched side yard, get a catch basin. It collects surface water through a grate and sends it into a solid drain line. The grate has to sit a little below the ground or pavement around it so water actually reaches it, and the pipe has to be sized for the area it drains.
Dry wells
A dry well is a rock-filled pit or perforated chamber that holds water and lets it soak in slowly. It's the answer when there's nowhere for a pipe to daylight. Depending on size, we dig them or auger them.
Culverts
A driveway that crosses a swale or ditch needs a culvert under it so water keeps moving. A culvert that's too small or set too high backs water up across the driveway, and one set too shallow can crush under trucks. On acreage with irrigation water, the ditch owner may need to approve the size first. See ditch digging.
French drains
When water moves through the soil instead of across it, a perforated pipe in washed rock is the tool. It's common along a foundation, at the base of a slope, or across the uphill side of a wet yard. Our French drain installation page covers how we build them.
Retaining wall drainage
Wet soil is heavy. Without drain rock and a perforated pipe behind a retaining wall, water pressure builds and pushes the wall out of line. We build drainage into the wall from the bottom course up.
How a Drainage Job Comes Together
- Find the outlet first. Every system has to end somewhere: a swale, a dry well, a ditch or a daylight point. If there's no good outlet, the whole design changes.
- Plan the fall. Pipes need steady slope over the entire run. On a flat Meridian lot, getting enough fall on a long run takes planning.
- Call in locates. We call Digline (811) at least two business days before digging. Sprinkler lines and landscape lighting aren't marked, and drainage routes cross them constantly.
- Dig, set and backfill. Pipe and basins go in, we run a hose through the line before covering it, and the backfill gets compacted so the trench doesn't settle into a new low spot.
Where the Water Is Allowed to Go
Pushing water onto a neighbor's lot just moves the problem, and it's a quick way to start a dispute. Cities have their own rules about sending water to the street or storm drain. Irrigation ditches usually belong to an irrigation district or ditch company, so draining into one needs their OK.
Small drainage fixes around a house often don't need a permit. Changing how water leaves your lot, work on a hillside, or disturbing an acre or more can. HOAs in Meridian, Eagle and Star may want to see plans first.
Treasure Valley Soil and Drainage Design
Soil decides which system will work, especially anything that depends on water soaking in. Two houses on the same street can drain very differently, so a test hole before the design is often the quickest way to see what's down there.
- Caliche. In Meridian, Nampa and Kuna, a dry well that stops on top of hardpan fills up and stays full. It has to get through the cemented layer.
- Clay. Water soaks in slowly, so dry wells need more volume and surface routes carry more of the load.
- River cobble. Near the Boise River in Eagle and Garden City, the ground drains fast, but groundwater rises during irrigation season and can flood a dry well all summer.
- Foothills. Decomposed granite washes out easily, so a swale on a slope needs rock lining or erosion control so it doesn't turn into a gully.
Keeping a Drainage System Working
Most drainage systems need very little care, but they do need some. Clean gutters so leaves don't wash into the downspout lines. Clear catch basin grates after fall leaf drop and big storms. Check that pipe outlets in the lawn aren't buried by sod or mulch. Don't pile soil, bark or rock into a swale when you landscape, since a swale only works while it keeps its shape. If a dry well starts holding water longer than it used to, it may need attention.
What Drainage Excavation Costs in Boise
Price depends on the type of system, the length of the pipe runs, how deep the outlet sits, soil and rock, and what's in the way: concrete, mature landscaping, fences or a tight side yard. We'll walk the property, explain what we'd do and why, and give you a free estimate.
Drainage Installation
Once we know where the water needs to go, we install the system that gets it there: French drains, catch basins, dry wells, buried downspout lines, swales and culverts. Each piece is set at the right depth and fall, bedded and wrapped so it doesn't silt up, and covered so it works under a lawn or a driveway. If you're not sure what's causing the problem yet, start with drainage solutions.
Why Hire Ultimate Excavation LLC for Drainage
One homeowner had us put in a stone block retaining wall and drainage around their home and said we "were timely, professional, and paid attention to all the small details." Drainage is mostly small details: a little more fall, fabric lapped the right way, a pipe that clears the footing. We're an Idaho registered contractor (RCE-65836) with a 5.0 rating on Google. Call (208) 697-2429 or request a free estimate.
