Grading & Drainage Solutions
Fix standing water, regrade your lot, and protect your property from erosion.
Soil erosion and stormwater are two separate New Jersey rules with two different triggers, and they are routinely confused. A certified soil erosion and sediment control plan is required once disturbance passes 5,000 square feet, about an eighth of an acre, and it comes from the county Soil Conservation District. Stormwater review under N.J.A.C. 7:8 engages at major development, which means disturbing at least 1 acre, or creating at least 0.25 acres of regulated impervious surface, or 0.25 acres of regulated motor vehicle surface. Lot size is not the test; proposed disturbance and new impervious area are, so a small project on a large parcel can still cross the line.
Want that answered for your property instead of in general? Call 862-268-2510 or get a free on-site estimate. We will tell you straight, including when the answer is that you do not need us.
Water in the wrong place ruins yards, basements, and foundations. We regrade lots to drain the way they should, install drainage that carries water away, and solve the wet spots that never seem to dry out.
How we do it
We start by reading the water: where it comes from, where it sits, and where it should go instead. Sometimes the fix is a regrade that pitches the ground away from the house; sometimes it is a French drain for water in the soil, a catch basin where water is running on top of the ground, a swale, or a seepage pit where there is nowhere for it to go at all; often it is a combination.
Then we do the dirt work with laser grades instead of eyeballs, compact what needs to stay put, and finish with topsoil and seed. The test is simple: the next hard rain runs where we planned, not where it used to.
What's included
- Catch basins and yard inlets
- Seepage pits and dry wells
- French drains and curtain drains
- Lot and yard regrading
- Downspout lines carried away from the foundation
- Erosion control and restoration
Grading & Drainage: what people ask us
Why does my basement leak every time it rains?
Nine times out of ten the ground around the house is pitched toward the foundation, or downspouts dump right at the wall. Regrading so water moves away is usually the permanent fix.
Do I need a French drain or regrading?
It depends on where the water comes from. Surface water usually calls for regrading and swales, groundwater calls for a French drain, and plenty of yards need a bit of both. We tell you straight after seeing it.
Can a soggy yard actually be fixed for good?
Yes, when the fix addresses the cause instead of the symptom. Proper pitch, collection, and a place for the water to go. That is the difference between a fix and a redo next spring.
What New Jersey actually requires
Most of the surprises on this kind of job are regulatory, not mechanical. Here is what binds the work in our counties, with the state sources so you can read them yourself.
| What | What it means for your project |
|---|---|
| Two different thresholds, and people mix them up | Soil erosion and stormwater are separate rules with separate triggers. A certified soil erosion and sediment control plan is needed once you disturb more than 5,000 square feet, about an eighth of an acre. The stormwater rules do not engage until the project is a “major development”. It is entirely normal to need the erosion plan and not the stormwater one. |
| What makes it a major development | Under N.J.A.C. 7:8, a project disturbing at least 1 acre of land, or creating at least 0.25 acres of regulated impervious surface, or 0.25 acres of regulated motor vehicle surface, or a combination reaching 0.25 acres, is a major development and stormwater management applies. NJDEP puts the flip side plainly: a project is not regulated if it disturbs less than an acre, creates less than a quarter acre of new impervious surface, and is not part of a larger development. |
| Lot size is not the test | The rules regulate major development regardless of lot size. What counts is the proposed disturbance and the new impervious area on your lot, so a small project on a big parcel can sit outside it while a compact one on a small parcel lands inside. |
| Where the water is allowed to go | Drainage work moves water, and it has to leave without becoming somebody else's problem. Discharging onto a neighbor, into a wetland or into a stream carries its own consequences, and freshwater wetlands transition areas run up to 150 feet beyond the wetland itself with excavating, filling and grading regulated inside them. |
Sources: N.J.S.A. 4:24-39 et seq., the NJ Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act (statute text) · NJDEP Stormwater Rule FAQs · N.J.A.C. 7:8, Stormwater Management rules (NJDEP) · NJDEP Watershed & Land Management: Freshwater Wetlands. This is general information, not a ruling on your property. Your county Soil Conservation District and your town have the final say for your address. Every New Jersey threshold in one table →
What it costs
How much does a catch basin cost in NJ?
$6,000 to $8,000
What moves it:
- Depth, which is set by where the water has to be carried to rather than by preference.
- Size, meaning how much water the basin has to take at once.
- Where the outlet pipe runs and what it has to cross to get there.
A catch basin takes water you can see running or standing on the surface, through a grate, and gives it a way into a pipe. It is the wrong tool for ground that is simply soft with nothing visibly running, which is a French drain problem instead.
How much does a seepage pit or dry well cost in NJ?
$15,000 to $25,000 for the tanks alone
What moves it:
- The size of the system, which is set by how much water it has to take rather than by the size of the yard.
- Where the tanks have to go, and whether a truck and a machine can reach that spot.
- What has to be crossed or restored to get them in, particularly on a finished property.
This is what you build when there is genuinely nowhere for the water to go: no daylight at a lower elevation on your own land, and no permitted connection to the street. It is the expensive answer, and it is why the first question on any drainage job is where the water is allowed to end up rather than what pipe to use.
Our ranges in northern New Jersey as of August 2026, not a quote. Every range on the site is on what this work costs.
Grading & Drainage: the questions behind the job
French drain, catch basin, curtain drain or dry well: which do you need?
They do not compete, they collect different water. A catch basin takes surface water you can see; a French drain takes it out of saturated soil. And the question that actually sets the price is not which pipe, it is where the water is allowed to go.
Wet basement or a yard that never dries? The fix is usually outside
French drain, curtain drain, footing drain, dry well. What each one actually solves, and why grading and downspouts come first.
Do you need a permit for a French drain in NJ?
Usually not from the state, because a typical drain disturbs about 200 square feet against a 5,000 square foot threshold. But four things turn it into permitted work, and whether the pipe touches the house decides more than anything else.
How to Keep Fresh Excavation From Washing Away
Bare dirt and a hard rain are a bad combination. Here is how we protect finished excavation work, and what you can do to keep it in place until the grass takes over.
Grading & Drainage: in our customers’ words
“James and the crew at JWSR LLC were outstanding from start to finish. They handled our excavation and drainage project professionally and left the property cleaner than when they arrived. They show up, do what they promise, and take pride in their work.”
“I've been using JWSR for several years and every job was completed professionally and accurately. Whether it was grading, installing a foundation for a generator, or trenching, they did a great job and honored the quoted price.”
Grading & Drainage across northern & central NJ
We provide grading & drainage across all 7 counties we serve. A few of the towns we cover:
Ready to get started?
Free on-site estimates. 24/7 emergency service. Call and talk to a real person.
Call 862-268-2510