Permanent drainage built for St. Louis clay
Green Turf designs and installs yard drainage systems across the St. Louis metro: french drains, downspout extensions, sump pump discharge lines, channel drains, and underground PVC networks. Every project starts with diagnosing where water is actually coming from, not just where it pools. We’ve been solving drainage problems in St. Louis County and St. Charles County for 50 years.
Celebrating 50 Years in Business
Trusted by Thousands of Local Households
Licensed, Certified, and Fully Insured
Drainage solutions we install and service in St. Louis
There is no single fix for a drainage problem. The right solution depends on where water is coming from, how much there is, and where it can go. We install all of the following, often combined in a single design.
French Drains
A perforated pipe set in a gravel-filled trench, designed to capture groundwater and saturated soil moisture, then carry it to a safe outlet. The right answer for spongy lawn areas, basement seepage at the foundation perimeter, and runoff from higher neighboring properties.
Downspout Drainage
Your roof generates thousands of gallons of runoff per storm. We tie downspouts into buried PVC carrying water well away from the foundation, ending in a dry well, pop-up emitter, or daylight outlet. Cuts foundation pooling at the source.
Sump Pump Extensions
If your sump pump dumps water within a few feet of the house, that water is going right back into the soil it just drained. We extend discharge lines underground to a permanent outlet, eliminating the recycle loop.
Channel Drains
Surface trench drains for driveways, patios, garage aprons, and walkways. They catch sheeting water before it can pool against the house or flow into the garage, then route it to underground pipe.
Underground Drainage Systems
For properties with multiple problem areas or significant water volume, we engineer integrated underground PVC networks that combine catch basins, downspout collection, and yard drains into a single system.
Drainage repair and service
Clogged french drains, crushed pipe, failed downspout connections, eroded outlets, full catch basins. We repair existing drainage regardless of who installed it.
Residential, commercial, and HOA drainage in St. Louis
Water problems show up in every kind of property. We work across all of them.
Residential
Most of our drainage work is for St. Louis homeowners dealing with standing water, soggy lawns, foundation pooling, or basement moisture. Inner-ring suburbs like Webster Groves, Kirkwood, and Brentwood see a lot of clay-soil drainage issues because of older grading and mature tree cover. Newer subdivisions in St. Charles County often have downspout and runoff problems from tight lot grading.
HOAs and commercial
Common-area drainage, retention area outlets, parking lot perimeter drains, and downspout collection for office buildings, retail, and multi-family. These jobs require staging around tenants and accurate as-built records for the property manager.
Country clubs and large properties
Fairway and rough drainage, cart-path channel drains, and large-volume catch basin networks. We’ve installed drainage at country clubs across the St. Louis metro, where the standards are strict and the visibility is high.
How we diagnose and fix your drainage problem
Most drainage failures we’re called to repair started with someone digging where they saw water sitting. That’s the symptom, not the source. We work the other direction.
Step 1, diagnosis
We walk the property after asking about your history with the problem, when it shows up, where it shows up, and how bad it gets. We check grading, look at downspout routing, examine soil conditions, and identify upslope contributors, including neighboring lots. Water often arrives from somewhere you wouldn’t expect.
Step 2, design and outlet planning
Once we know where the water is coming from, we design where it needs to go. The outlet matters as much as the collection point. A french drain with nowhere to discharge is a buried bathtub.
Step 3, utility location
Missouri 811 locates are scheduled before any digging. Gas, electric, water, fiber, all flagged. This is non-negotiable.
Step 4, installation with proper depth and pitch
Pipe is laid at the correct slope, set on proper bedding, and surrounded with washed gravel that drains rather than packs. Connections are made with full fittings, not friction-fit. We pressure-check and water-test before backfilling.
Step 5, restoration and walkthrough
Trenches are backfilled in lifts, sod or seed restored, and the system is shown to you and tested with running water. You see the outlet performing before we leave.
The drainage components we install, and why they matter
Drainage lives underground. There is no easy way to inspect or replace components after the lawn grows back. That makes material quality the most important decision in the entire project, and it’s where most cheap installations fail.
Pipe and fittings
We use ADS and NDS components, the manufacturers most widely specified by engineers for residential and commercial drainage. Solid PVC and perforated pipe are sized to expected flow, with proper-grade thickness so they don’t crush under soil load. Fittings are full glue joints, not press-fit.
Aggregate
Washed gravel that maintains void space and drains freely. Cheap drainage installs use whatever rock is in the truck, including material that packs down and chokes flow within a few seasons.
Catch basins, channel drains, and outlets
ADS and NDS basins sized to flow rate, channel drains designed for the expected load (residential walkway is different from a commercial driveway), and outlet emitters that release water without causing erosion at the exit point.
Documentation
As-built records of every system we install, including outlet locations, basin placements, and pipe runs, stored in your customer account. Five years from now when something needs attention, nobody is guessing where the pipe goes.
Annual service agreements for your drainage system
A drainage system is mostly install-once. But that doesn’t mean it never needs attention. Catch basins fill with debris. Outlet emitters get covered by mulch. Downspout connections shift after a hard freeze. Tree roots find pipe seams. The systems that keep working for 20 years are the ones that get checked once a year.
What an annual drainage agreement includes
- Annual inspection and flow test of all collection points and outlets
- Catch basin cleaning and debris removal
- Downspout connection check after winter freeze-thaw
- Post-storm visit option after major St. Louis weather events
- Discount on parts and labor for any repair work
- Priority scheduling during spring storm season
Who tends to enroll
Homeowners who’ve invested in a full underground system. Property managers responsible for common-area drainage. Anyone who’s dealt with a basement leak once and isn’t interested in dealing with it again. Many of our drainage agreement holders are also on our irrigation membership, which lets us do both visits in one trip.
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Why a 50-year drainage track record matters
Five decades of St. Louis drainage work
We’ve been installing drainage across the St. Louis metro since 1976. Conditions here are difficult: heavy clay subsoil that doesn’t accept water, freeze-thaw winters that move pipe and crack fittings, sudden spring storms that overwhelm undersized systems, and aging housing stock with original grading that no longer protects the foundation. Most drainage problems we fix were caused by either bad initial grading or a previous contractor’s shortcut. We’ve seen all of it.
Diagnostic-first, not dig-and-hope
The biggest single difference between our work and a cheap drainage install is where we start. We diagnose where water is coming from. Cheap installers dig where water is sitting. Treating the symptom is what produces drainage systems that fail two years later, because the source was never addressed.
In-house crews, no subcontracting
Every drainage installer on your property is a Green Turf employee. Most have been with us for years, in some cases decades. Crews are trained, insured, and accountable to our service manager. We don’t hire day labor or hand jobs off to a third party.
Material quality where it counts
ADS and NDS components, proper-grade PVC, washed drainage gravel, and full glue joints on every fitting. None of this is visible from the surface. All of it is the difference between a system that works for 25 years and one that quietly fails in five.
Stocked service fleet
13+ radio-dispatched service vans across the St. Louis metro, stocked with the catch basins, fittings, and pipe sizes we use most often. Most drainage repairs finish on the first visit.
Real people, real response
Our office is staffed year-round during business hours. No call center, no after-hours voicemail loop during the day. Saturday service available at no extra charge. Your technician calls 30 minutes before arrival so you’re not stuck waiting through a window.
Licensed, certified, and accredited
- Missouri State and St. Louis County certified
- BBB accredited
- Fully licensed, bonded, and insured
- 24-hour emergency service line available
Trusted across St. Louis
More than 380 five-star Google reviews and a customer base of roughly 1,500 households across all three service lines. The brand has been earned one project at a time over five decades.
Drainage installation across the St. Louis metro
We dispatch from our Maryland Heights office at 73 Millwell Ct., serving 22 cities across the St. Louis and St. Charles County metro:
- Clayton
- Chesterfield
- Ballwin
- Manchester
- Kirkwood
- Webster Groves
- Brentwood
- Richmond Heights
- Ladue
- Frontenac
- Town & Country
- Creve Coeur
- Maryland Heights
- Hazelwood
- Florissant
- St. Charles
- St. Peters
- O’Fallon, MO
- Fenton
- Arnold
- Wentzville
- Lake St. Louis
Not sure if you’re in our drainage service area? Call us at (314) 739-0410.
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Common questions about yard drainage in St. Louis
How much does a french drain cost in St. Louis?
French drain cost depends on length, depth, outlet design, and whether the run requires hand-digging around mature landscaping. Most residential french drains in St. Louis fall within a typical range based on these factors. We provide a fixed, itemized quote after a site evaluation.
Do french drains work in St. Louis clay soil?
Yes, when designed correctly. Clay soil is the reason french drains are necessary in much of St. Louis. The design has to account for clay’s low permeability, which means the trench needs more drainage capacity per linear foot, the gravel needs to be washed and properly graded, and the outlet has to be sized for the flow the system collects. A french drain designed for sandy soil will fail in clay.
How long does a drainage system last?
A properly installed underground drainage system with quality ADS or NDS components, correct pitch, and a working outlet should function for 20 to 30 years with minimal maintenance. Systems built with thin-wall pipe, friction-fit fittings, or no slope planning often fail within five years.
Will drainage installation damage my landscaping?
Trenching disturbs the surface along the pipe run, but we restore sod or seed at the end of the project. In landscaped beds and around mature trees, crews hand-dig to protect root systems. Disturbed areas typically recover within a few weeks of normal watering.
Do I need a permit for yard drainage in St. Louis?
Most residential drainage work in St. Louis County does not require a permit, but it depends on your municipality and the scope of the project. Discharge into the street or storm sewer typically does require approval. If permitting applies, we handle the filing on your behalf.
How do you find where the water is actually coming from?
Visual inspection of grading, downspout routing, soil conditions, and surrounding properties; running water tests through downspouts and at the property boundary; and in some cases tracing flow paths with dye. Standing water shows where water collects, not where it comes from. Diagnosis is what separates a permanent fix from a temporary patch.
How fast can you respond after a flooding event?
During heavy storm seasons, demand spikes. Members on an annual service agreement get priority dispatch. For non-members, we work through requests in order of urgency, prioritizing active water intrusion into homes.
Green Turf Customer Testimonials
Over 500 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews can’t be wrong!
✨Green Turf is consistently praised for reliable, professional irrigation service delivered by knowledgeable technicians who genuinely care about their customers and their systems. St. Louis homeowners repeatedly highlight prompt response times, clear communication, thorough workmanship, and long-term dependability.
Get a real fix for your drainage problem
If your yard is holding water, your basement is taking on moisture, or your foundation has been pooling after every storm, the problem isn’t going to fix itself. Green Turf has been engineering permanent drainage solutions in St. Louis for 50 years. We offer no-pressure evaluations, fixed itemized quotes, and honest recommendations on what your property actually needs, not the most expensive option you’ll buy.
