Tampa gets more than 45 inches of rain a year. Most of it falls in a few summer months, in short, heavy storms. A drainage system sized for average rainfall will fail in July.
Standing water kills turf, rots roots, undermines paving, breeds mosquitoes and eventually reaches the slab.
Finding the actual problem
We survey the property and find where the water comes from, where it collects and where it can legally go. The visible puddle is often not where the fault is.
Common causes on Tampa commercial sites: a parking lot draining toward the building, a downspout discharging into a bed, a swale that has silted up, or a grade that settled after construction.
French drains and catch basins
A French drain is a perforated pipe in a stone-filled trench, wrapped in fabric so silt does not clog it. It collects water across a length rather than at one point.
Catch basins take water from a low spot and put it into pipe. We size the grate and the pipe to the area that drains into it, and we set the invert so the line keeps falling all the way to the outlet.
Regrading and swales
Sometimes the answer is not pipe. Reshaping the ground so water runs where you want it is cheaper, needs no maintenance and does not clog.
We regrade turf areas, rebuild silted swales and reset the fall away from building faces and door thresholds.
Downspouts and roof water
A commercial roof puts a large volume of water on the ground in a very short time. If the downspout discharges next to the foundation, that water goes under the slab.
We pipe downspouts underground and carry them out to a drain, a pop-up emitter or the stormwater system.
Expert tip
From the crew
Tampa gets more than 45 inches of rain a year, most of it in short summer storms. A drainage system sized for average rainfall will fail in July. Sometimes the answer is not pipe: reshaping the ground so water runs where you want it is cheaper and does not clog.
— Tampa Turf Services field team
How a drainage job runs
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Site survey | Before any pipe is specified |
| French drain | Collects water along a length, not at one point |
| Catch basin | Takes a low spot into pipe with fall to the outlet |
| Regrade or swale | Used when pipe is not the cheapest fix |
| Downspouts | Piped away from the foundation |
| Restore | Sod and paving put back as part of the job |
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