Most people don't call a drainage company because they looked up "drainage solutions." They call because water is doing something in their yard that it isn't supposed to do, and they're not sure who fixes that.
Below are the problems we hear most often across Summerville, Goose Creek, North Charleston, and the surrounding Lowcountry — described the way homeowners actually describe them. If one of these sounds like your property, it's a solvable problem, and it's the kind of thing we look at every week.
"Water pools in my backyard and it just sits there"
This is the single most common call we get. Water collects in the same low spot after every rain and takes a day or two to disappear, if it disappears at all.
What's usually going on: Lowcountry soil holds water. Between our clay content, a high water table, and lots that were graded to shed water toward a spot that no longer drains, you end up with a basin that has nowhere to send what it collects.
What typically fixes it: Regrading to re-establish positive slope, a French drain to intercept and carry water away, or a catch basin tied into a discharge line — depending on how much water is moving and where there's somewhere to put it.
"It's getting into my garage"
Pooling is an annoyance. Water reaching a structure is a different category of problem, and it's the one we'd rather people call about sooner.
What's usually going on: Water collecting near the foundation or against a slab edge, often where a patio, driveway, or paver area sits slightly high and directs runoff back toward the house instead of away from it.
Water against a slab doesn't stay outside indefinitely. Left alone, it moves into the garage, then into wall assemblies, and the repair stops being a drainage job and starts being a restoration job.
What typically fixes it: Redirecting the source — downspout extensions, a trench drain across the garage apron, or regrading the approach — combined with a subsurface line to carry the intercepted water somewhere it can discharge.
"My whole backyard and side yard flood when it rains"
When it's not one low spot but most of the lot, the issue is usually volume and route rather than a single depression.
What's usually going on: The property is receiving more water than it can absorb or shed — often runoff from adjacent lots, roof drainage concentrated in a few discharge points, or a lot that was graded flat with no defined path off the property.
What typically fixes it: A drainage plan rather than a single fix. Typically that means capturing water at the points where it enters, moving it through a subsurface system, and discharging to a ditch, swale, or street connection. See site grading and swales for how that's approached.
"There's a spot that's always soft and never dries out"
A patch that stays spongy weeks after the last rain, sometimes with moss or standing algae, sometimes where grass won't grow.
What's usually going on: Either a persistently high water table at that point, groundwater surfacing along a seam, or a slow leak from an irrigation line. It can also be an old, failed drain line that's discharging underground instead of where it was meant to.
What typically fixes it: Diagnosis first. Fixing a soft spot caused by a broken irrigation line with a French drain is an expensive way to not solve the problem.
"My neighbor did work and now their water comes to me"
Regrading, a new addition, a pool, or a fence line can all redirect runoff onto an adjoining property.
What's usually going on: The upstream lot has been altered so that water that used to spread out or soak in now arrives at your property line concentrated in one place.
What typically fixes it: Interception at the property line — a French drain or swale that catches the incoming flow and routes it around rather than through your yard. This is a common enough scenario that there's a standard approach to it.
"The downspout dumps right against the foundation"
The cheapest problem on this page, and the one most likely to cause expensive damage if it's ignored.
What's usually going on: A roof concentrates a large volume of water into a few discharge points. If those discharge within a few feet of the foundation, that water is being delivered directly to the place you least want it.
What typically fixes it: Buried downspout extensions carrying discharge well away from the structure, often tied into an existing or new drainage line.
Commercial and site work
Not every call is residential. We also hear from property managers, facilities staff, engineers, and appraisers working on projects where drainage is part of a larger scope — replacing an existing collection box and discharge line, addressing standing water at an entrance or parking area, or providing a quote on an existing system as part of a property assessment.
If you're scoping work on a commercial property, a right-of-way, or a parcel under evaluation, see commercial drainage.
If you recognized your yard somewhere on this page, the next step is straightforward: we take a look, tell you what's causing it, and give you a number. Call (843) 970-0408 or request an assessment below.