St. Petersburg drainage for a low, flat peninsula where rain has nowhere to run
We are Trufam Drainage, and St. Pete is home. We build French drains, underground drainage, foundation drains, and gutters for yards that pond, from the 1920s bungalows of Kenwood and the Old Northeast to the low blocks of Shore Acres and Snell Isle.
of rain falls on St. Pete in a normal year, and most of it lands June through September.Local climate normals, USDA soil survey
is how close the water table climbs to the surface in the wet season, so the sandy ground is already full when the next storm hits.USDA Pinellas and Myakka soil series
above sea level is where the lowest neighborhoods sit, which is why gravity alone cannot carry the water out.City of St. Petersburg, Shore Acres
Sandy soil is supposed to drain fast. In St. Pete, it often cannot.
St. Petersburg is a thin, flat peninsula with Tampa Bay on one side and Boca Ciega Bay and the Gulf on the other. There is very little slope to carry water off, and the sand that most yards sit on is only helpful until the water table underneath it fills up.
In the wet season that water table rises to within about a foot of the surface. When the ground below is already saturated, a hard afternoon downpour has nowhere to soak in, so it sits on top of your grass, creeps toward the slab, and turns the low strip between houses into a pond.
What actually works is giving the water a faster path than the soaked ground around it, then carrying it to a spot where it can safely leave. The tools for the job are yard drainage and underground drainage, designed for your lot.
USDA maps most of the peninsula as Pinellas and Myakka fine sand: deep sand that the survey rates as poorly drained, with a seasonal high water table that sits close to the surface for months at a time. Good to know it is the ground, not you, that keeps the yard wet.
Same city, two very different water problems
A drainage plan that works downtown is the wrong plan on the bay. We build for both, and we design each one around the ground it sits on.
Old, low, and never built for this
Old Northeast, Historic Kenwood, Roser Park, and Historic Uptown were platted in the 1910s and 1920s. The homes are charming and they sit on tight lots, on a raised crawlspace or a low slab, with downspouts that dump rainwater a foot from the wall.
These homes were built before anyone planned for today's storms. We add the drainage they never had: intercept the roof water, carry it underground in solid pipe, and move it away from the foundation. See foundation drains.
A foot or two above the bay
Shore Acres, Snell Isle, Venetian Isles, and Coquina Key sit right on the water. Parts of Shore Acres are only one to two feet above sea level, so when the tide is high the storm drains cannot push water out, and the streets pond on a sunny day.
We are honest about the line here. We move the rain, the runoff, and the high-water-table water off your property. A drain cannot stop hurricane storm surge, and we will tell you so on the walkthrough.
What we fix, and what we will not pretend to
Yard ponding and the soggy strip between houses
Rain runoff and downspouts dumping at the slab
A high water table keeping the ground wet
Water finding its way toward the foundation
Hurricane storm surge pushing the bay into the streets
Raising a house or building a seawall
The city is spending tens of millions on a Shore Acres pump station because its gravity drains cannot push water out once Tampa Bay's tide tops about two feet. The same physics plays out on one low lot. We design your discharge around it, and when gravity cannot finish the job we add a sump. Surge is a different fight, and no yard drain wins it.
Drainage designed for your lot, built to last
Custom-built French drains
A French drain is only as good as its design. We size the trench, the stone, and the pipe to the water your lot actually has to move, then wrap it in fabric that keeps the sand out for the long haul. No pre-made kit, no guessing.
Underground drainage and downspout tie-ins
Your gutters can move a surprising amount of water in one storm, and most of it lands right at the corner of the house. We collect the roof and yard water, carry it underground in solid pipe, and route it to a discharge that keeps it away from the slab for good.
Yard drainage
Catch basins and graded collection for the low spots that stay wet after every rain.
Yard drainage ›Foundation drains
Intercept water before it reaches the base of an older St. Pete home.
Foundation drains ›Seamless gutters & guards
The first step of good drainage is catching the roof water cleanly.
Gutters › · Guards ›Channel drains
Surface drains for driveways, pool decks, and patios that sheet water toward the house.
Channel drains ›Sump systems
Where the lot is too low for gravity, a sump moves the water the last stretch.
Sump systems ›Maintenance plans
Keep basins, cleanouts, and lines clear so the system works when the storms come.
Maintenance ›The materials are where cheap drains fail
Standing water is not the hard part. Building a system that still works in ten years is. Here is what goes in the ground on a Trufam job, and why it matters.
- Solid SDR-35 pipeRigid sewer-grade pipe in 20-foot sticks, not the thin corrugated tubing that crushes and clogs.
- Clean #57 graniteHard, washed stone that holds its shape, instead of cheap limestone that breaks down and packs tight.
- DOT-grade fabricRated for about 50 years in the ground. Bargain weed barrier lasts a couple of years, then the drain silts up.
- Metal cleanoutsServiceable access points with stainless mesh, so the system can be cleaned instead of dug up.
- Proper pitchEvery line is set to fall the right way, so water keeps moving after we leave.
You are protecting a house that costs more every year, on an island that floods
The price depends on how much water we have to move and where it can safely go, so we start with a walkthrough and design the system first. We are not the cheapest drainage company in Tampa Bay, and most people who call us are done paying for quick fixes that failed.
You are paying for commercial-grade materials and a system built around your property, not a number pulled over the phone.
Trusted across Pinellas County
From the historic districts to the water's edge
Nearby in Pinellas: Clearwater, Dunedin, Palm Harbor, and Safety Harbor.
Answers before you call
Because St. Pete sits low and flat on a sandy peninsula with a high water table. In the wet season the water table climbs to within about a foot of the surface, so the ground is already full and the rain has nowhere to soak in. A French drain or an underground system gives that water a built path to a safe discharge instead of letting it sit on your grass.
Yes. We build drainage in Shore Acres, Snell Isle, Venetian Isles, Coquina Key, and the rest of the low blocks. We are also honest about the limit: we move rain, runoff, and high-water-table water off your property. Hurricane storm surge, when the bay itself rises into the streets, is a different problem that no yard drain can stop.
Often yes, for the everyday water. A drain works by giving standing water a faster, lower path than the saturated ground around it, then carrying it to a discharge that follows the grade and the rules. On the very lowest lots we design that discharge carefully and add a sump where gravity alone cannot finish the job.
We add the drainage the home was never built with. Many 1920s St. Pete homes sit on a raised crawlspace or a low slab on a tight lot, with downspouts dumping right at the foundation. We intercept that water, carry it underground in solid pipe, and move it away from the house. Start with foundation drains.
Complete drainage systems generally start around $5,000 and can pass $30,000 for large or complicated properties. The price depends on how much water we have to move and where it can safely go, so we start with a walkthrough and design the system first. We are not the cheapest, and most people who call us are done paying for quick fixes that failed.
Not when it is built right. We wrap the stone in DOT-grade fabric rated for about 50 years in the ground, so fine sand and roots stay out while water gets in. Cheap weed barrier lasts only a couple of years, which is exactly why bargain drains silt up and fail. See how we build French drains.
Yes. St. Petersburg is our home base, and we work across Pinellas, from the beaches to Clearwater, Dunedin, and Palm Harbor. See the full Pinellas County area.
Before the next wet season, get the water headed the right way
Tell us where it pools. We will walk the lot, design a system for your property, and build it to last.
Request an EstimateTrufam Drainage · (813) 722-1355 · Serving St. Petersburg and all of Pinellas County