Madison & Dane County, Wisconsin
Yard Drainage Solutions in Madison, WI
Standing water doesn't fix itself, and it rarely stays where it started. We design and install drainage systems that move water off your property and away from your foundation.
NDS Certified Professional Drainage Contractor. We're trained and certified by NDS, the largest manufacturer of professional drainage products in North America, to size and design systems based on actual runoff — not guesswork.
Signs you have a drainage problem
Most homeowners call us about one of these:
- Standing water in the yard that lingers for days after rain
- Soft, soggy ground that never fully dries out
- Water pooling against the foundation or along the driveway
- Downspouts dumping straight onto the ground beside the house
- A low spot where grass drowns out and dies every spring
- Mulch or rock washing out of beds after a heavy storm
Left alone, these get more expensive. Water against a foundation finds its way in, and saturated soil undermines patios, walkways and walls.
What we install
Buried downspout lines
Downspouts piped underground and carried well away from the house, discharging through a pop-up emitter that stays hidden in the lawn until water pushes it open.
French drains
Perforated pipe in a clean stone trench, wrapped in filter fabric, to collect subsurface water from a saturated area and carry it to a discharge point.
Surface regrading and swales
Reshaping the ground so water runs where you want it to. Often the most durable fix, and sometimes the only one that solves the actual problem.
Sump discharge lines
Sump pump discharge routed underground and away from the foundation, so the water your pump removes doesn't drain straight back toward the house.
Drainage for wet planting beds
Beds that hold water drown plants and wash out mulch. We correct the grade and add drainage so the bed sheds water instead of collecting it.
How we find the right fix
Every wet yard looks the same from the driveway and almost none of them have the same cause. Surface water and subsurface water need different solutions, and installing the wrong one is how people end up paying twice.
We walk the property, find where water enters and where it's actually going, check the grade, and identify a discharge point that works. Then we size the system to the runoff your property produces rather than defaulting to a standard trench.
You'll know what we're installing and why before any digging starts.
Common questions
Why is water pooling in my yard?
Usually grade, soil, or both. Water runs toward the low point, and if that's beside your house or in the middle of the lawn, it sits there. Heavy clay soil — common across Dane County — drains slowly, so water that would soak away elsewhere stays on the surface here. Downspouts discharging next to the foundation make it worse by concentrating roof runoff in one spot.
Will a French drain fix a wet basement?
Sometimes, and sometimes not. Exterior drainage helps when water is collecting against the foundation from the surface or from downspouts. If water is coming through a crack or under the footing, that's a foundation issue and you need a waterproofing contractor. We'll tell you honestly which one you're dealing with.
How long does a drainage project take?
Most residential drainage work runs one to three days depending on the length of the run, access for equipment, and how much restoration the lawn needs afterward. We'll give you a timeline with the estimate.
When can drainage work be done in Wisconsin?
Roughly April through November, once the ground has thawed and before it freezes. Spring is when most people notice the problem, which makes it the busiest time — if you're seeing standing water now, get on the schedule early.
Get a free estimate
Show us where the water goes. We'll walk the property and tell you what it will take to fix it.
Serving Madison, Middleton, Verona, Waunakee, Fitchburg, Monroe, New Glarus and all of Dane & Green County.