Yard Drainage and French Drains in Cortland, OH
Cortland sits on the east shore of Mosquito Creek Lake, fifteen minutes from Farmdale, on ground that is flat and slow to drain. Lake lots, newer subdivisions on old fields and farm parcels in Bazetta all get the same spring: a yard that squishes into June. Jeff regrades, cuts swales and lays French drains to end that.
Yard Drainage in Cortland
A lake town on flat ground
Mosquito Creek Lake is a flood control reservoir the Army Corps of Engineers finished in 1944, and nearly everything in Cortland drains toward it or toward Mosquito Creek below the dam. The lake is the low point. That means most of the city and the township around it is level ground with nowhere steep for water to run.
In town the lots are close and the trees are big. Out in Bazetta, Mecca and Fowler townships it turns to fields and long drives. Either way, the clay underneath is the same, and a yard that was graded flat when the house went up will hold water every spring until somebody gives it a way out.
New subdivisions on old farm fields
A lot of Cortland's newer houses stand on ground that was farmed for a century. Fields like that often carry old clay tile lines that once carried the water off. When the lots were cut, the tile got broken or buried, and now it drains into somebody's back yard instead of the ditch it used to reach.
If your lawn has a wet stripe that runs in a straight line, that is sometimes what you are looking at. Jeff finds where the water is surfacing and either picks it up with a French drain or opens a swale along the lot line so it can get to a real outlet again.
Lake lots and the slope to the water
Lots along the lake side of town have the opposite problem: a short, steep drop where runoff cuts a gully on its way down. Water moving fast carries dirt with it, and the lake does not need more of that.
The fix there is a swale across the slope that slows the water and spreads it, with the grade shaped so it leaves the yard gently rather than in one channel. Dirt stays out of the lake, cover stays on the slope, and the disturbed ground is kept to what the job needs. Work right at the shoreline is a separate question, and the Corps has a say there.
Trumbull clay and why pipe alone fails
The county's namesake soil, the Trumbull series, is rated poorly drained by the USDA, with water standing at or just under the surface from November to May on the level parts of the till plain. Rain moves along the top of that clay instead of down through it.
A French drain in Cortland has to be built for that: set where the water travels, bedded in clean stone, wrapped in fabric, and falling steadily to an outlet that is lower than the trench. On a lot this flat, finding that outlet is the hard part. Sometimes it takes a culvert under the drive or a cleaned-out ditch to reach it. Culvert installation covers that piece.
The conservation district is in town
Cortland is the home of the Trumbull Soil and Water Conservation District, which helps county residents with drainage, erosion and flooding questions. If water crosses from a neighbor's land or runs toward the lake, they are a good first call. Ohio law requires notice to OHIO811 before any trench is dug.
The City of Cortland is at 400 North High Street for anything inside the city limits. Outside town, the township zoning office is the one to ask. A new culvert or a drive onto a county road goes through the Trumbull County Engineer, and the driveway and culvert permits guide explains who handles what.
Fifteen minutes from the shop
Cortland is close enough that Jeff can walk a yard without making a trip of it. He looks at where the water comes from, where it collects and where the lowest proper place to send it is, then recommends the least work that will do the job. Estimates are free.
A drainage fix often goes with other work here: a long gravel drive that has been damming water, covered under gravel driveways in Cortland, or brush on a wet back line, covered under forestry mulching in Cortland. The drainage page explains the methods, and the Cortland page has the rest.
Yard Drainage & French Drains
Standing water on slow clay moved off yards and away from the house: regrading, swales, French drains and buried downspouts.
See the serviceTalk to Jeff(330) 625-5754
Tell Jeff where the yard stays wet and whether it is a new lot, a lake lot or a farm parcel. He is fifteen minutes away.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Old farm tile. Broken field tile surfacing in a new subdivision yard picked up and given an outlet.
- Swales on the slope. Runoff slowed and spread on lake lots so it stops cutting a gully.
- French drains. Stone and pipe under the wettest strip, with fall to a ditch or daylight.
- Culverts and ditches. Drive culverts set and ditches cleaned so the outlet actually works.
Cortland, OH
Fifteen minutes from Farmdale by Mosquito Lake, with lake lots, newer subdivisions and farm parcels around Bazetta Township.
Town pageAlso in CortlandDemolition & Removal in Cortland, OH
See the pageAlso in CortlandForestry Mulching in Cortland, OH
See the pageAlso in CortlandGravel Driveways in Cortland, OH
See the pageThe serviceYard Drainage & French Drains
Standing water on slow clay moved off yards and away from the house: regrading, swales, French drains and buried downspouts.
Main service pageCortland and the towns nearby
From Cortland, the same work runs south down Route 46 into Howland, Niles and Warren, and north and east into Mecca, Fowler, Johnston and Vienna, which are all between Cortland and Farmdale. Youngstown, Boardman, Canfield and Austintown are on the regular run as well, and Hermitage across the Pennsylvania line. The service area page has the whole map, Trumbull County and beyond.
You get Jeff. Not a crew he sent.
You call
You call or send the form. Jeff comes out and looks at the job with you, on the ground, rather than pricing it off a photograph.
A number first
You get one figure before anything starts, with the hauling and the grading in it.
He runs the machine
Then he shows up and runs the machine himself.
Ground left usable
Voids get filled and the ground is graded back so you can build, seed or just mow.
Photos of his work.
These are photographs from actual jobs. See more recent work. Or read about the full yard drainage & french drains service.
Questions people ask
Not seeing yours? Call (330) 625-5754 and ask Jeff, or read the guides.
My new house in Cortland has a wet stripe across the back yard. What is it?
Often it is an old farm tile line that was cut when the subdivision went in. The water it carried now comes to the surface in your lawn. Jeff finds the spot, picks it up with a French drain or opens a swale along the lot line, and runs it to a ditch or daylight so it can leave again.
Can water from my yard be sent toward the lake?
Most Cortland yards drain that way anyway. The work is done so water leaves slowly and clean: a swale that spreads the flow, grade that does not cut a channel, cover kept on the slope. Anything at the shoreline itself is a separate question, and the Army Corps of Engineers and the conservation district should be asked first.
Who do I call about drainage in Cortland before hiring anyone?
The Trumbull Soil and Water Conservation District has its office right in Cortland and helps county residents with drainage, erosion and flooding questions. For the city side, City Hall is at 400 North High Street. For a culvert or a drive on a county road, the Trumbull County Engineer. For the digging, Logan Earthworks.
Do you put in the culvert under the driveway?
Yes. A long township drive with a ditch on one side is often the dam that holds water on a Cortland lot, and a culvert set to grade under it lets the ditch do its job. On a county road the Engineer's office has a say in the pipe and the placement, so that gets asked first. The pipe is set to grade, bedded and backfilled.
How much does yard drainage cost in Cortland?
It depends on the length of swale or trench, how deep it has to go to get fall on flat ground, how far away the outlet is and how easily a machine reaches the spot. The French drain and yard drainage cost guide walks through each piece. Jeff looks at the yard and gives a free estimate with everything in it.
Other work he takes on
Most jobs end up being two or three of these at once, and they get quoted together.
Yard Drainage & French Drains in other towns
Land Clearing & Brush Removal
Overgrown lots, fields and wooded acreage cleared and left ready to use.
Learn moreForestry Mulching
Brush and small trees ground into mulch in place. No piles, no burning.
Learn moreExcavation & Site Prep
Digging, pads, trenching and dirt work on rural and suburban lots.
Learn moreGravel Driveways
New drives cut, based and crowned; ruts, potholes and soft spots rebuilt.
Learn moreDrainage & French Drains
Standing water moved off yards and foundations on slow-draining clay.
Learn moreStump Grinding
Stumps ground below grade and the hole filled.
Learn moreFree estimate in Cortland.
Send the details and Jeff will come out and look at it. If it is easier to talk it through, call him directly.
Farmdale, Warren, Niles, Cortland, Youngstown, Boardman, Canfield, Austintown, Hubbard and Trumbull and Mahoning counties, over into Mercer County, PA.
Need yard drainage in Cortland?
Call Jeff or send a few details. Estimates are free.