Service area
Southlake sits on sandier ground than Irving, with clay waiting about a foot and a half down. Water soaks in, stops, and comes out where nobody expects it.
Rein Irving Drainage Company works in Southlake, northwest of Irving, where the ground behaves differently from the heavy clays closer to Dallas. The topsoil is sandy, the clay sits further down, and water that soaks in can resurface days later somewhere else. Southlake also asks for drainage and grading plans on new houses and additions. Both shape how a French drain, regrading or a whole-yard drainage plan is built here.
At the USDA soil survey sample point in Southlake, the soil maps as Gasil fine sandy loam: a sandy surface layer over sandy clay loam beginning about 17 inches down. Similar ground runs across the Cross Timbers suburbs nearby. In Flower Mound, Birome soil puts sandy material over 45 percent clay at about 6 inches, and in Euless, Rader soil has sandy loam over 42 percent clay below about 27 inches.
| Sample point | Surface | Denser layer starts | What water does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southlake (Gasil) | Fine sandy loam | About 17 in, sandy clay loam | Soaks in, perches, seeps out on slopes |
| Flower Mound (Birome) | Sandy | About 6 in, 45% clay | Perches close to the surface |
| Euless (Rader) | Sandy loam | About 27 in, 42% clay | Deeper perched water |
These describe one point each, not every lot. A test hole tells you where the denser layer starts in your yard, and that depth sets the drain.
On this kind of ground, rain soaks into the sandy layer quickly, then stops where the subsoil is denser. It spreads sideways along that boundary and follows the slope. The result is a yard that looks dry on top but stays soft for days, or a wet patch that appears at the bottom of a slope or along a retaining edge long after the rain has stopped.
That is the case where a French drain is the right tool. A trench laid along the top of the denser layer gives the perched water an easier path than the soil. Nonwoven fabric around clean washed stone keeps the fines out, and rigid pipe carries the water to an outlet. Placed across a slope above the wet area, it works as an interceptor, sometimes called a curtain drain. The guide to French drains in clay soil explains the build.
Sandy soil absorbs water readily, but it also moves easily when water runs across it fast. Swales that are too steep cut into gullies, downspouts dumping on bare ground scour holes, and slopes lose their topsoil. Gentler grades, rock-lined channels where flow is fast, and buried downspouts that carry roof water past exposed ground keep the soil in place. The slope guide covers the balance between enough fall and too much.
Southlake’s residential guidelines for new houses and additions ask for a drainage and grading plan with flow arrows that match the subdivision’s drainage plan. Where no engineered subdivision plan exists, the city asks for an engineered drainage study and plan. Additions and other work that changes how a lot drains are planned with that in mind, so the finished grade sends water where the subdivision intended. The permits guide compares Southlake with Irving and the other nearby cities.
A drain on a deep lot may need a long run to reach the street or a channel, and the outlet still has to be one the water is allowed to reach. Texas Water Code section 11.086 makes it unlawful to divert surface water in a way that damages another property. The options are covered in where a French drain can drain.
A typical Dallas-area range for a standard exterior French drain is about $25 to $55 per foot installed; as national budgeting ranges, buried downspouts run about $150 to $350 each and catch basins about $500 to $1,500 each. Long outlet runs on deep lots, and engineered plans where the city requires them, are the main things that move a Southlake job up. The drainage cost guide and the cost tool help set a budget.
Rein Irving Drainage Company plans and manages each job; installation is carried out by licensed and insured drainage contractors we work with.
We also work in Coppell, Grand Prairie and Dallas. See all service areas.
At the Southlake soil sample point, sandy loam sits over sandy clay loam starting about 17 inches down. Rain soaks through the sand, stops on the denser layer and moves sideways along it, coming out on slopes and at low edges days later.
Southlake's residential guidelines ask for a drainage and grading plan with flow arrows matching the subdivision plan for new houses and additions. Where there is no engineered subdivision plan, an engineered drainage study and plan is required.
Similar in kind, different in depth. The Flower Mound sample point has sandy soil over 45 percent clay at about 6 inches, and the Euless point has sandy loam over 42 percent clay below about 27 inches, so the depth of a drain changes from town to town.
Sandy surface soil moves easily when water runs across it fast, so swales and slopes can erode into gullies. Lining fast-flow areas with rock, or slowing water with gentler grades, keeps the soil in place.
Often, because water here moves through the sandy layer rather than sitting on top. A drain laid along the top of the clay intercepts that water, with nonwoven fabric around clean stone to keep fines out.
Send photos of where water appears and your address.
