Yard Drainage Cost Calculator
Yard Drainage costs $1,025 to $1,550 for a typical 60 linear feet job in 2026, against a national benchmark of $1,250. Labor runs 11.4 crew hours at $28.78 an hour. Enter a ZIP code to apply that area's measured wages for this work and its regional price level.
What makes up the price
Cost by size
National averages, before any local adjustment. Computed from the same model as the calculator above, so the two always agree.
| Length of pipe run | Linear feet of pipe | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 linear feet | 30 | $850 | $700 to $1,050 |
| 50 linear feet | 50 | $1,125 | $925 to $1,375 |
| 60 linear feet | 60 | $1,250 | $1,025 to $1,550 |
| 80 linear feet | 80 | $1,500 | $1,250 to $1,875 |
| 100 linear feet | 100 | $1,775 | $1,450 to $2,200 |
This is surface water. A French drain is not
The two jobs share a trench and get confused constantly, and the difference decides everything else:
- Yard drainage collects water that is on the ground — a puddle that stands for a day after rain, roof water off a downspout, a sheet of it crossing a driveway — through a grated inlet, and carries it away in solid pipe.
- A French drain collects water that is in the ground, through perforated pipe bedded in stone. See french drain installation.
The practical consequence is the pipe. Solid pipe is the whole point of a yard drain, because the water has already been collected at the inlet and holes would let it out again along the route. Perforated pipe used as a yard drain does exactly that, and then silts up from the inside. If a quote for surface water specifies perforated pipe with a sock, ask why.
Three ways to collect it
| How | 60 foot run | Per foot | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downspouts taken underground | $975 | $16 | Water is coming off the roof |
| Catch basin at the low spot | $1,250 | $21 | A low area holds water after rain |
| Channel drain across concrete | $2,875 | $48 | A sheet of water crosses a slab |
A longer system costs less per foot and more in total: 120 feet with a second basin is $2,050. A short channel drain across a driveway apron — 20 feet — is $1,150, and the per-foot figure looks high there because the saw cut and the patch happen whatever the length.
Do the downspouts first
This is the cheapest card on the page and it is also the right first move, which does not happen often.
A thousand square feet of roof in a one-inch rainfall sheds about 600 gallons. A downspout ending in a splash block puts all of it in one place, four feet from the house, several times a year. Taking the leaders underground and out to a pop-up emitter moves the single largest concentrated volume of water on the property before it ever touches the lawn.
If the wet spot is anywhere near a downspout, do this and wait for a storm before buying anything else.
Fall is the constraint, not the budget
Solid pipe moves water by gravity. It needs continuous fall the whole way — at least an eighth of an inch per foot, which is 1% — and it needs it at every point, not on average. One low spot in the middle of a run is a trap that holds water and silt.
On a flat lot this decides what is possible before price does:
- The outlet has to be genuinely lower than the inlet. Pace the route and look at it honestly before you believe a quote.
- A run that gains you two inches over eighty feet does not work, however good the pipe is.
- Where there is no fall at all, the options are a dry well (and only if the soil drains) or a pumped basin, which puts a motor in the system.
Ask how the grades are being shot. A laser level or a transit and a written measurement is the answer. An eye and a confident manner is not.
The two ways these systems fail
The basin is set too high. A catch basin only works if the ground falls to it from every direction. Set flush with the surrounding grade it collects nothing and the puddle sits next to it. It wants to be the lowest point in the dish, by an inch or two, with the lawn graded into it.
There is no way to clean it. Yard drains silt up — that is what they are for. A system with no cleanout is a buried pipe nobody can ever rod, and in ten years it is a trench doing nothing. Ask for a cleanout at the head of the run and at any bend over 45 degrees, and use long-sweep fittings rather than sharp elbows.
Where the water is allowed to go
- Not onto the neighbor's property. Concentrating water and discharging it across a boundary is the most common drainage dispute there is, and in most states a channeled discharge that causes damage is actionable however natural the slope.
- Not into the sanitary sewer. Illegal almost everywhere, and found at the point of sale.
- Into the storm sewer only with permission. Many municipalities require a permit to tie a private yard drain into a public storm line, and some prohibit it outright.
- A dry well only where the soil drains. In clay a dry well is a hole that fills up and stays full. If a percolation test has not been done and the soil is heavy, it is a pit, not an outlet.
Grading is the option nobody quotes
A shallow swale — a graded channel in the lawn, two feet wide and a few inches deep, falling away from the house — moves a surprising amount of surface water and costs a fraction of a piped system. It is rarely offered because it is unglamorous and because it does not suit a yard with no fall, no room, or a fence in the way. On a lot where it does work, it is the cheapest answer on this page and it should be on the table.
The same goes for the grade against the house itself. The ground should fall about six inches in the first ten feet away from the wall, and settled backfill that slopes back toward it is a cause, not a symptom.
What to ask before signing
- Is this surface water or groundwater, and why?
- Solid pipe or perforated — and if perforated, why?
- How much fall does the run have, and how was it measured?
- Where does it discharge, and is that legal here?
- Where are the cleanouts?
- How many basins, and how low is each one being set?
- Who repairs the turf, and when — seed in July is a visible stripe for a year.
Common questions
How much does yard drainage cost?
About $1,250 for a catch basin and a 60 foot run of buried pipe, which is $21 a linear foot. Taking the downspouts underground over the same distance is $975, and a channel drain cut into concrete is $2,875. Longer systems cost less per foot: 120 feet with a second basin is $2,050. A short channel drain across a driveway apron, say 20 feet, is $1,150.
What is the difference between yard drainage and a French drain?
Whether the water is on the ground or in it. A yard drain collects surface water at a grated inlet and carries it away in solid pipe. A French drain collects groundwater through perforated pipe bedded in stone. The pipe is the tell: solid pipe is the whole point of a yard drain, because the water has already been collected and holes would let it back out along the route — and then the pipe silts up from the inside. If a quote for a puddle in the lawn specifies perforated pipe with a sock, ask why.
What should I do first about a wet yard?
Take the downspouts underground, because it is the cheapest option and it moves the largest concentrated volume of water on the property. A thousand square feet of roof in a one-inch rainfall sheds about 600 gallons, and a downspout ending in a splash block puts all of it in one place four feet from the house. Sixty feet of buried leader out to a pop-up emitter is about $975. If the wet spot is anywhere near a downspout, do that and wait for a storm before buying anything else.
How much slope does a yard drain need?
At least an eighth of an inch per foot, which is 1%, and it has to be continuous — at every point, not on average. Solid pipe moves water by gravity and nothing else, so one low spot in the middle of a run is a trap that holds water and silt. On a flat lot the fall available decides what is possible before the budget does: a run that gains two inches over eighty feet does not work however good the pipe is. Ask how the grades were shot, and expect a laser level or a transit and a written measurement.
Why does my catch basin not collect any water?
Almost always because it is set too high. A basin only works if the ground falls to it from every direction, so it has to be the lowest point in the dish — an inch or two below the surrounding grade, with the lawn graded into it. Set flush, it collects nothing and the puddle sits next to it. This is the most common complaint about an installed yard drain and it is a grading mistake rather than a product problem.
Do yard drains need cleanouts?
Yes, and leaving them out is how these systems die. Yard drains silt up, because moving silt is part of what they do. Without a cleanout the pipe can never be rodded, and in ten years it is a buried trench doing nothing. Ask for a cleanout at the head of the run and at any bend over 45 degrees, and for long-sweep fittings rather than sharp elbows, which catch debris and cannot be cleared.
Can I drain my yard onto the neighbor's property?
No, and this is the most common drainage dispute there is. Collecting water and discharging it in a concentrated stream across a boundary is actionable in most states if it causes damage, however natural the slope was beforehand. A yard drain also must not go into the sanitary sewer, which is illegal almost everywhere and gets found at the point of sale, and tying into a public storm sewer usually needs a permit and is sometimes prohibited outright. Settle where the water goes before agreeing on a price.
Does a dry well work?
Only where the soil actually drains. A dry well is a stone-filled pit that lets water soak away, and it exists for yards with nowhere lower to discharge to. In sand or loam it works well. In clay it is a hole that fills up and stays full, and it will back up into the system it was supposed to serve. If no percolation test has been done and the soil is heavy, treat a proposed dry well as a pit rather than an outlet. It adds about 30% to the price of a run.
Is regrading cheaper than installing drains?
Often, and it is rarely offered. A shallow swale — a graded channel in the lawn, a couple of feet wide and a few inches deep, falling away from the house — carries a surprising amount of surface water for a fraction of a piped system. It needs room, some fall and no fence in the line, so it does not suit every lot, but where it does it is the cheapest answer available. The grade against the house matters too: the ground should fall about six inches in the first ten feet, and settled backfill sloping back toward the wall is a cause rather than a symptom.
What is a channel drain and when do I need one?
A long slot grate set flush into concrete, for a sheet of water crossing a slab rather than a puddle in a lawn — across the apron of a driveway, at a garage threshold, along the low edge of a patio. It is the most expensive option here at about $48 a linear foot, because the slab has to be saw-cut, the channel set to grade in a bed of concrete and the cut reinstated either side. Reported figures of $20 to $50 a foot are mostly for channel set into a new pour; a retrofit into existing concrete sits at the top of that range.
Where these numbers come from
Nothing here is copied from a contractor directory. Labor is priced from what the trades are actually paid, materials from published producer prices, and both are adjusted to your area using federal cost-of-living data.
- Landscaping services, United States: $28.78/hour, August 2026 (BLS CES CES6056173003)
- Solid pipe, fittings and added basins: $4.15 per linear foot (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)
- Catch basin, grate and gravel sump: $95.00 per basin (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)