Grading & Drainage
Grading & Drainage in West Jordan, UT
Regrading, swales, French drains, and catch basins — and an honest answer about whether you need a drain system at all or just a corrected grade.
Regrading, swales, French drains, and catch basins — and an honest answer about whether you need a drain system at all or just a corrected grade.
Grade first, pipe second. Roughly half the drainage calls we walk are solved by regrading and two downspout extensions.
The standard nearly every Utah drainage problem traces back to is 6 inches of fall in the first 10 feet away from the foundation — about a 5% slope. If a yard doesn't have that, no drain product fully saves it, and a lot of homeowners find that out after spending several thousand dollars on pipe.
West Jordan's clay soil absorbs water slowly and holds it. Add a July monsoon cell dropping half an inch in twenty minutes on baked ground, February meltwater running across a frozen surface, and secondary water systems that run long because they're cheap — and you get standing water against foundations in a place that only gets 16 inches of precipitation a year.
The problems we get called for, and what each one actually needs:
This is the part that gets skipped and then regretted. Before any drain gets designed, the outlet has to be legitimate: not concentrated onto a neighbor's property, and never tied into the sanitary sewer — that's prohibited essentially everywhere and can carry real penalties.
Storm drain and curb-face connections vary by city; some allow it, some require a permit, some don't allow it at all. And if your lot has a drainage easement on the plat, you generally can't regrade or build within it. We pull that up and make the call to the city before we design, not after.
| Solution | What It Does | 2026 Installed Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Downspout extension or buried line | Moves roof water past the backfill zone | $150-$600 each |
| Surface regrade, one problem side | Re-establishes positive fall from the house | $1,500-$5,000 |
| Swale (shaped surface channel) | Routes sheet flow to a safe outlet | $25-$50 / linear ft |
| French drain | Collects subsurface water in saturated ground | $35-$75 / linear ft |
| Catch basin + solid pipe to daylight | Captures a low point, carries water away | $2,500-$7,000 |
| Trench drain at garage or driveway | Intercepts flow before the slab | $90-$180 / linear ft |
| Dry well / infiltration pit | Stores and releases where there's no outlet | $1,800-$5,000 |
| Full-yard system | Regrade + basins + piped outfall | $5,000-$15,000 |
Ranges reflect what we actually quote in West Jordan and the surrounding valley in 2026. Site access, tear-out, and base condition move the number more than anything else — which is why every estimate is written after Bryan walks the property, not over the phone.
Bryan walks the property, scopes it honestly, and delivers a written quote — usually within 24 hours.
Request Your Free EstimateTell us about your project and we’ll get back to you with a detailed quote — usually within 24 hours. No pressure, no obligation.
West Jordan is home base. We work outward from there across the southwest Salt Lake Valley, and up into the north Utah County growth corridor.