French Drains and Yard Drainage in Shawnee, KS

Hills, bluffs and the lot below

Shawnee's western half climbs toward the bluffs above the Kansas River, and subdivisions there are cut into slopes. On a hillside street each house sits a little below the one uphill, and water follows. A common Shawnee call is from the owner of the lower lot, whose back yard or side yard carries runoff from the house above. An interceptor, either a graded swale or a French drain across the top of the lot, catches that water and walks it around the house to an outlet instead of letting it reach the foundation.

Walkout basements

Sloped lots mean a lot of walkout basements. They have two different problems. The uphill wall is buried deep in the slope and carries the most water pressure, so that is where seepage shows up inside. The walkout side opens onto a lower patio that collects everything running down the hill, so water pools at the door. The uphill side often needs exterior waterproofing or interior drain tile; the patio side needs a catch basin or trench drain and a graded swale beside it.

Older Shawnee

Closer to Nieman Road, Johnson Drive and old downtown Shawnee, the housing is older and flatter, and the problems look more like north Overland Park: settled backfill and downspouts emptying at the wall. Utilities are marked through Kansas811 first. We also work in Lenexa and Overland Park.

Shawnee drainage questions