Drainage Systems & French Drains
South Florida gets more than 60 inches of rain a year, most of it between June and October, and a lot of it in an hour. Drainage is not an optional upgrade here — it is what protects everything else.
Drainage Systems & French Drains from Outfront Landscaping — available across Palm Beach and northern Broward County for both residential and commercial properties. Free estimates, no contract required on maintenance. Call or text (561) 877-9154.
A yard that holds water after a storm is telling you something. Sometimes it is a grading problem: the lot was finished so that water runs toward the house instead of away from it. Sometimes it is compaction, where years of traffic have sealed the surface. Often, in eastern Palm Beach County, it is simply a high water table with nowhere for the water to go.
Standing water kills St. Augustine in days, rots root systems, undermines paver bases, breeds mosquitoes and eventually finds its way into a slab. Fixing it is unglamorous work that pays for itself the first serious rainy season.
What you get with drainage
- French DrainsPerforated pipe in a gravel trench wrapped in filter fabric, sloped to daylight or to a dry well. The standard fix for a chronically soggy low spot.
- Catch BasinsGrated inlets that capture surface water at the low points and move it into a piped system.
- Dry WellsSubsurface storage that lets collected water percolate away where there is no outfall to daylight.
- Corrective GradingReshaping the surface so water runs away from the foundation and toward somewhere it belongs.
- Downspout ExtensionsRoof water piped away from the foundation instead of dumped against it.
- Sump Pump SystemsPumped discharge where gravity alone will not solve the problem.
How we diagnose a drainage problem
Watch where the water goes
We look at grade, downspout discharge, neighboring lots and the condition of the turf. Dead patches map the problem better than any instrument.
Find the outfall
Every drainage system needs a destination — a swale, a street inlet, a lake bank or a dry well. Identifying that first determines the whole design.
Install
Trench, fabric, gravel, pipe, basins and backfill, set to a consistent fall so nothing sits stagnant in the line.
Restore the surface
Sod or plantings replaced over the work so the repair disappears.
Drainage FAQs
How much standing water is a problem?
A good rule of thumb: if water is still standing 24 hours after the rain stops, you have a drainage problem. St. Augustine will tolerate a brief soaking but starts declining after a day or two submerged, and repeated saturation invites take-all root rot.
What does a French drain actually do?
It gives subsurface water an easier path than the surrounding soil. Perforated pipe sits in a gravel-filled trench wrapped in filter fabric; water enters along the whole length and is carried by gravity to an outlet. The critical detail is that the outlet has to be lower than the inlet, which is not always easy on a flat South Florida lot.
Can drainage work be done without tearing up my yard?
Any buried system requires a trench, but the disruption is temporary and narrower than most people expect. We replace sod over the trench line and within a few weeks it knits back together.
Why does my yard flood when my neighbor’s does not?
Usually grade or soil. Older neighborhoods in Lake Worth and Lantana were platted before modern stormwater standards, and a single regraded lot next door can redirect sheet flow onto yours. We look at the whole drainage path, not just the puddle.
Will this help with mosquitoes?
Yes, meaningfully. Standing water is where mosquitoes breed. Eliminating the puddles that persist for more than a few days removes the habitat.
Often booked together
Hardscapes, Pavers & Patios
In the art of landscaping, hardscape means the built environment: the patios, walls, walkways and fire features that give a yard its shape when the plants are still filling in.
Learn more
Sod Installation & Lawn Replacement
When a lawn is more weed than turf, patching stops making sense. New sod gives you an instant, uniform lawn — and a clean reset on the soil underneath it.
Learn more
Lawn Aeration & Renovation
Core aeration is one of the most important practices you can provide your lawn — it controls thatch, relieves compaction and gets water, air and nutrients back into the root zone.
Learn moreDrainage in your city
We provide drainage systems & french drains throughout Palm Beach County and northern Broward County.
- Lake Worth
- Wellington
- Greenacres
- Royal Palm Beach
- Boynton Beach
- Delray Beach
- West Palm Beach
- Boca Raton
- Lantana
- Palm Springs
- Atlantis
- Loxahatchee
- Jupiter
- Palm Beach Gardens
- North Palm Beach
- Riviera Beach
- Palm Beach
- Manalapan
- Haverhill
- Westlake
- Deerfield Beach
- Coral Springs
- Parkland
- Pompano Beach
- Coconut Creek
- Fort Lauderdale
Need drainage?
Call or text (561) 877-9154 for a free estimate. Photos welcome — they usually save a trip.
Free estimates · No contracts on lawn maintenance · 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM Mon–Fri