---
title: Yard Drainage in Wilmington & Hampstead NC
description: French drains, catch basins, dry wells and regrading for wet yards in coastal NC. Built for sandy soil and a high water table. Free site visit.
---

Hampstead · Wilmington · Surf City · Topsail Beach · Jacksonville NC Licensed Swimming Pool Contractor (S) · Insured  ·  [(910) 277-5560](tel:+19102775560)

[SUNRISE*.*POOLS INC](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/?hsLang=en)

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[Home](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/?hsLang=en) › Yard Drainage

Yard & site drainage

# Yard drainage for sandy soil and a high water table.

**French drains, catch basins, dry wells and regrading for yards that hold water — typically $2,500–9,000 for a residential system in coastal NC, most of them finished in two to four days.** Wilmington averages 57.61 inches of rain a year, and the ground here is flat. We carry NDS Professional Drainage Contractor certification, and we handle permitting where a job needs it.

[Get a Free Site Visit](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/contact?hsLang=en) [See what it costs →](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/drainage/#detail)

Typical range

- **$25–45**per foot, French drain, installed
- **$2,500–9,000**most residential systems
- **2–4 days**start to finish on a typical lot

Fixed after a site visit, not before. The visit is free.

## What drainage fixes, and what it does not

### What we fix

- **Standing water.** Low spots that hold water for days after a storm and kill the grass under them.
- **Water against the house.** Runoff pooling at the foundation, crawl space or slab edge.
- **Soggy lawn.** Ground that never firms up enough to mow without rutting.
- **Washouts.** Driveways, beds and mulch that move every time it rains hard.
- **Pool deck runoff.** Water sheeting off decking toward the house instead of away from it.

### What drainage will not fix

- **The water table itself.** We move surface water. Nobody lowers the regional groundwater on a quarter-acre lot.
- **Flood zone flooding.** Storm surge and a FEMA flood elevation are a different problem with different answers.
- **A failing drainfield.** If the septic is the source, drainage around it is a bandage. That needs a septic contractor.
- **Nowhere to put it.** Every system needs an outfall. On a truly landlocked low lot, the honest answer is a pump, or no.

Step by step

## How we approach a wet yard

1. 01
   
   ### Look at it wet
   
   We come out during or right after rain if we can. Dry ground hides the problem and guesses cost you money.
2. 02
   
   ### Find the outfall
   
   Where the water can legally go decides the whole design. Street, ditch, swale, dry well or pump.
3. 03
   
   ### Dig and install
   
   Trenching, pipe, fabric and stone or engineered aggregate, set to a measured fall.
4. 04
   
   ### Restore and test
   
   Backfill, grade, seed or sod, then run water through it while you watch.

What it costs

## Drainage pricing in coastal NC

Ranges from residential work in Pender, New Hanover and Onslow counties. Standalone drainage starts at $1,500, less if we are already on site for a pool or another job. Your number is fixed after a site visit.

| Work | Installed | Timeline | What moves the number |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| French drain | $25–45 per ft | 1–2 days | Depth, length, access for a machine |
| Catch basins & surface collection | $1,800–5,500 | 1–2 days | Number of basins, run length, outfall distance |
| Dry well | $1,500–3,500 | 1 day | Size, and how deep the water table sits |
| Driveway channel drain | $1,500–3,200 | 1–2 days | Width, concrete cutting, tie-in |
| Downspout burial | From $1,500 | 1 day | Number of downspouts, run length, what it crosses |
| Regrading and swales | $1,500–6,000 | 2–4 days | Area, fill volume, sod or seed |
| Full residential system | $4,500–12,000 | 3–5 days | Lot size, how many problems, outfall |

Sand digs fast, which keeps labor down. What drives coastal pricing up is distance to a legal outfall and working around septic fields, irrigation and utilities.

## Related work

### Pool repair & leak detection

Water where it should not be is sometimes the pool, not the yard.

[Pool repair](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/pool-repair?hsLang=en)

### Commercial & HOA

Common-area drainage, deck runoff and equipment pads.

[Commercial work](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/commercial-pools?hsLang=en)

### Pool maintenance

Weekly service across the same counties.

[Pool service](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/pool-maintenance?hsLang=en)

Common questions

## Drainage questions

How much does yard drainage cost in coastal NC?

Most residential systems land between $2,500 and $9,000, with a single problem area running less.

A short French drain to one low spot can be under $2,500. A whole lot with several problem areas, a long run to the outfall and regrading can pass $12,000. A standalone drainage job starts at $1,500, and costs less if we are already at the property building or servicing a pool. The site visit is free and the quote is written.

My soil is sand. Why is the yard still wet?

Because the problem here is usually the water table, not the soil.

Sand drains well until it hits saturated ground. On much of this coast the seasonal high water table sits within two or three feet of the surface, so water percolates down a foot and then has nowhere left to go. That is also why a dry well that works inland can fail here — it fills and stays full. We check the water table before designing around infiltration.

Where does the water actually go?

Somewhere it is allowed to go, which is the first thing we work out.

Usually a street, ditch, existing swale or a dry well. We do not discharge onto a neighbor, and we do not ditch into a wetland. Wetland work in NC is regulated by the Army Corps under Section 404 and by NC DEQ under Section 401, with CAMA rules on top of that near the water.

Do I need a permit?

Most straightforward residential drainage does not, but some jobs do.

Work that touches a wetland, a CAMA area of environmental concern, or a county or HOA stormwater plan needs approval first. We tell you which category your job is in before we start, not after.

Next step

## Tell us about the yard

We’ll come look, walk the low spots, and send a written quote with a plan for where the water goes.

| Phone | [(910) 277-5560](tel:+19102775560) |
| --- | --- |
| Email | [sales@sunrisepoolsinc.com](mailto:sales@sunrisepoolsinc.com) |
| Hours | Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00 · Sat by appointment |

### Request your free site visit

We’ll call within one business day to set up a site visit.

[SUNRISE*.*POOLS INC](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/?hsLang=en)

[(910) 277-5560](tel:+19102775560)  
[sales@sunrisepoolsinc.com](mailto:sales@sunrisepoolsinc.com)

Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00 · Sat by appointment

#### Pools

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- [Cost guide](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/pool-cost-guide?hsLang=en)

#### Spas

- [Hot tubs](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/spas?hsLang=en)
- [Swim spas](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/swim-spas?hsLang=en)

#### Commercial

- [Commercial pools](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/commercial-pools?hsLang=en)
- [HOA & community](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/commercial-pools/hoa-community-pools?hsLang=en)
- [Resurfacing](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/commercial-pools/resurfacing?hsLang=en)
- [ADA compliance](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/commercial-pools/ada-compliance?hsLang=en)

#### Service

- [Repair](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/pool-repair?hsLang=en)
- [Resurfacing](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/pool-resurfacing?hsLang=en)
- [Renovation](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/pool-renovation?hsLang=en)
- [Maintenance](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/pool-maintenance?hsLang=en)
- [Yard drainage](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/drainage?hsLang=en)
- [Pool fill-in](https://www.sunrisepoolsinc.com/pool-fill-in?hsLang=en)

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